Topic: To swerve and avoid, or just hit it

[Fobroader]

Just hit it??? Really?? If it's safe to brake, swerve or do ANYTHING to avoid hitting an animal or any object in the road ahead of you, why the fack wouldn't you?? This has to be one of the stupidest questions I've ever seen posted here. Christ almighty.....

Would you rather hit an animal at high speed with the part of the car that is mainly designed to absorb impacts, the front end, or swerve, hit the ditch and roll at high speed?? We aren't talking about a head on with another car or a semi here.

You can do both, hit the deer and then crash and die.  Sometimes it's hard to drive with a smashed windshield and a thrashing deer in your lap. 
There are lots of scenarios.   There are no absolute right answers.

Man Hits Deer, Dies In Fire Following Crash

Bainbridge man killed after hitting deer on I-88

Absolutely, impossible to make an absolute guide to hitting animals, way too many variables.

[johngenx]

I've avoided quite a few deer that have run onto the road, no need to Bo Luke into the sky or even go off the road.  Brake HARD, reducing velocity as much as possible, then steer (not yank the wheel like you're a giving a $5 happy ending) around as best as possible.  I did glance off a coyote once, and the damage was far less than if I'd hit it square on.  Sadly, the coyote still died, but at least my car had very little to be repaired.

No, no absolute right answer as every situation is different, but I do what has worked for me in the past.  Keep speeds down in known animal dense areas, look ahead, plan to brake, and be very, very careful in the dark.

[ArticSteve]

This is kind of a loaded question.

If you and a deer are destined to collide you won't even have enough time to hit the brake.  They come out of the tree line or out of a deep ditch and BANG.  For insurance purposes it's a lot easier if you kill it on the spot.

[blur911]

This is kind of a loaded question.

If you and a deer are destined to collide you won't even have enough time to hit the brake.  They come out of the tree line or out of a deep ditch and BANG.  For insurance purposes it's a lot easier if you kill it on the spot.

Absolutely, for the most part I've been lucky and noticed deer in time, but often you don't even have time to react. 
You are also spot on about insurance, if you crash avoiding a deer you are screwed, if you have fur in your grill it's a comprehensive insurance claim. (I believe)

[ArticSteve]

if you have fur in your grill it's a comprehensive insurance claim. (I believe)

Yes, any animal hit in Ontario is deemed zero fault and falls under comprehensive.  Sure hope they don't change that the greedy b*stards.

NOTE TO ALL! .... one must remain at the scene.  You've got to have the attending Police sign on to the fact that a deer or other such animal was struck.  This can be a b*tch in certain areas where OPP can be 4 or 5 hours from attending.

[tooscoops]

as much as i hate to kill anything, i'm only going to brake and make very safe attempts to avoid...

in the case of giant things like moose and close things like deer, i hope i see them in time and i can only say what i'd like to do (avoid). but there is a reason they are called accidents... they rarely happen when you are expecting them...

[blur911]

if you have fur in your grill it's a comprehensive insurance claim. (I believe)

Yes, any animal hit in Ontario is deemed zero fault and falls under comprehensive.  Sure hope they don't change that the greedy b*stards.

I have heard that this is true only for wild animals, hit a cow and you have to sue the farmer.  I'm not sure if this is still valid information.

[dr_spock]

Depends on the situation.   No hard fast rule.   Maybe don't drive that fast in Newfoundland.  Pay attention to the sides of the road and far ahead.  Leave sufficient space between you and the guy in front of you so that you have time to react. 

[Schmengie]

Depends on the situation.   No hard fast rule.   Maybe don't drive that fast in Newfoundland.  Pay attention to the sides of the road and far ahead.  Leave sufficient space between you and the guy in front of you so that you have time to react.

What are you, some kind of radical?

[ArticSteve]

I have heard that this is true only for wild animals, hit a cow and you have to sue the farmer.  I'm not sure if this is still valid information.

Not valid.  Your insurance company pays the damage and then has the option to subrogate a claim against the farmer or a dog owner for that matter.  Legally it's "animal at large", wild or domestic matters not.

[rrocket]

This is kind of a loaded question.

If you and a deer are destined to collide you won't even have enough time to hit the brake.  They come out of the tree line or out of a deep ditch and BANG.  For insurance purposes it's a lot easier if you kill it on the spot.

Very true.  We live near a deer population.  Since there's no hunting, and the area abuts a provincial park and a baited migratory bird area...there are too many deer.  Every time I approach the area, I drop my speed from 80km/h to 50km/h.  Even that's not enough.  Last year I nearly hit a deer in the 911.  I had a hoof scratch on my front bumper...that's how close it was.

On the day I brought the 911 home, I destroyed a rabbit.  IQ was behind me and she said the rabbit's head nearly landed on her hood.  Whoops!

An another time, I saw a group of 4-5 rabbits playing around, running towards the street.  I knew they wouldn't stop.  I said, out loud well in advance "Dead rabbit!".  IQ's sister was in the car and as she was saying "Where?"....THUMP!  Dead rabbit....

[tooscoops]

I'm in dundas where we have to have a cull every year or so to decrease the deer population.. and they are stupid too...

my friends laugh because they get all excited, "ohhhh a deer!"... then they think i'm a horrible person as i run at them and threaten to punch them (the deer, not my friends). just last night i went out to clean off my wife's car and there was a 7 pointer and a doe in my yard about 15 feet from me... i try to freak them out so they will be scared of humans.... i don't want them casually wandering around our roads....

i will see an average of one deer every day on the last leg of my drive... on that windy hilly section of my drive.. i'm sure it's just a matter of time until i hit one... and i will hit it because i will most likely have nowhere else to go.

[OliverD]

Just hit it??? Really?? If it's safe to brake, swerve or do ANYTHING to avoid hitting an animal or any object in the road ahead of you, why the fack wouldn't you?? This has to be one of the stupidest questions I've ever seen posted here. Christ almighty.....

It's not stupid at all. I've often heard that unless you're hitting a moose, don't bother swerving.

Obviously we can point to cases where people have died when hitting a deer but I think it's safe to say you're much more likely to die if you end up rolling the vehicle or hitting oncoming traffic or a large stationary object.

A guy I used to work with knew twin brothers who died when the girl who was driving the car they were in swerved to avoid ducks in the road and ended up driving into a lake.

[aquadorhj]

on my way home last night.


on 100km/h road, 6 lanes divided, i'm going 110+ (GPS says i'm under 110)  thru a mild curve, evening rush hour is starting and the road is .. occupied but  not yet crowded.




a FAT ground squirrel jumps on the road and waddles its way across.   fattest ground squirrel i've ever seen...

in my mind i said 'ohhhhhh sh1t, i'm gonna hit that thing.'


i did not slow down, i did not swerve, i didn't do anything but try so that the squirrel would be BETWEEN my wheels so i would drive over it.   I wasn't about to risk myself or others around me by applying any sudden maneuvers..


I saw the intact squirrel still waddling across in my rear view mirror and i breathed the sigh of relief.

[Serniter]

If I don't have time to analyze the consequences of slowing/swerving, I do not.  Not sure how, but I had a squirrel run right across underneath my car.  I was waiting for a crunch that never came and then saw the little animal clear the opposite side.

[quadzilla]

Ever have your partner say out loud "DEER" while you are driving down the highway. After you senses go into over load looking for it they point to it 500m in the field.

[KD]

It's a hard call to make regarding deer as every situation is unique.  My friend's wife hit a deer at speed on the hwy and didn't have a chance to hit the brakes.  The deer flipped over the car and caused very little damage.  The car was still road worthy as my buddy drove it home afterward.  I'm certain with a moose it would be a different story.  Deer are rampant in my hood so I am constantly scanning the road ahead.  Haven't hit one yet and have avoided hitting many by braking and/or swerving. Luckily we don't have the constant traffic congestion of some areas so swerving is usually a valid option at a reasonable speed.

I fat fingered the poll and picked 2 instead of 3 last night when i submitted my vote...fakin ipad...

[tooscoops]

my god yes quad....

you get white knuckled, hover over every fricken pedal in existence, and clench your butt cheeks to realize they are talking about something in a different area code

[PJungnitsch]

I was really impressed with NoTo's 'Eyesight' story from his Subaru review. In all the deer hits I've had, there's never been time to do much more than hit the brakes and see what happens next.

At least with a car you are in a safety cage, motorcyclists are not that fortunate:

The Wisconsin DOT site devoted to the deer problem says that while only 2% of car-deer collisions were fatal to humans, 84.9% of the motorcycle-deer crashes involved human fatalities.

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/critter-crashes-how-to-avoid-deer-and-other-animals-motorcycle

Another interesting tidbit from that article:

A moose can weigh over 1200 pounds. Their coloration "sucks" the light and they appear invisible in the dusk and night hours. Unlike deer, rarely does one see the reflection of their eyes in a headlight beam. They usually react to oncoming vehicles by jumping in the road and quartering away from the vehicle across the road so their fur absorbs the light rather than reflect across the guard hairs on their coat. If you see their fawn colored haunches (the insides of their back legs), then you better be at a dead stop because you are much too close for comfort.

Interesting fact about automobile-moose collisions: if the driver never sees the moose and hits it at full speed there is rarely a fatality. The automobile front end clips the legs and the moose either rolls off the roof of the car or barely touches the car depending on the speed of the collision and the height of the car. If the driver sees the moose and panic brakes, the moose usually goes through the windshield, causing severe injury or death.

[tooscoops]

didn't mythbusters do that on an episode? found that no matter what speed, the moose destroyed the car?...


found this... http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/speed-up-when-you-hit-a-moose.htm