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Deer Strike: To swerve or not to swerve

Pretty good advice.

Spent my whole life motoring around in 'deer country,' so here's a few suggestions:

1) Before you hit the deer, hit the brakes - HARD! Get on them (ABS a godsend at this moment) and get that bike slowed down as fast as you can - even if you cannot avoid the collison, make it a 30 MPH hit raher than 65.

2) Duck! Lay down on the tank just prior to contact with a large animal - they often catapult over the bike and the windshield does little to blunt the energy of the beast. Sitting upright, as if a 200 lb. animal is going to bounce off of you, rarely has good results.

3) Stay on the roadway - often evasive maneuvering results in secondary collisions with trees, fence posts, barbed wire or guardrails and ends up being worse than those dang forest rats. But if not severely injured post-collision, consider rolling off to the shoulder (or median) ASAP after the drama has subsided, lest an unaware following motorist uses you as a speed bump.

4) ATGATT


But pffog's advice to stay alert and avoid probable times of interaction is the best.

Dusk and dawn - premo moments for deer activity, so slow down if you must oeprate within an hour either way of those times.

Here's a little advice I pass on to BRC students:

When operating during high-conflict times of deer activity on interstates, ride in the passing lane - deer rarely ambush you from the median - they come flying out of the woods. Put some distance between the treeline and you - gives your peripheral vision more time to assist you.

Tuck in close behind a semi rig in the dark - let the 18-wheeler blaze a path thru deer country for you.

Install additional driving lights on your motorcycle - the more ilumination, the better.

Good luck and may we all ride safe this summer.

And we all should print this out and paste it on the wall in front of our bikes as a reminder.

In S. Illinois is thick with wood rats and they are dumb. One certainty you can count on is, if they are running parallel with your direction of travel, they want to cross IN FRONT of you. Has to do with instinct of a prey animal. So slow down and let them cross before they decide to commit suicide by running in front of you.

Ride Well
Ride Often
:eat More Venison

Think I will go to the fridge and get some more smoked deer ham! :thumb
 
In S. Illinois is thick with wood rats and they are dumb. One certainty you can count on is, if they are running parallel with your direction of travel, they want to cross IN FRONT of you.

The last one of those I saw was 19 inches nose to tail. Shouldn't something that big have brake lights and turn signals? :lol
 
I commute to work in the dark through deer country, roughly about 10 miles of back country road before I even get into any populated areas. At night, unless there's some other vehicles in my immediate vicinity, I've always been in the habit of staying towards the center of the two lane roads, just inches off to the right of the centerline. A few years back while riding my Concours home late one night, I saw that deer vermin running low and fast coming at me from my left. When I say "saw", I mean it was instantenous. I probably got 2 seconds into a countersteer to the right when it glanced off the back edge of my left saddlebag as it went on by. I was doing about 60mph, and other than the bike shuddering a bit (and my heart rate rising considerably) I survived that one with nothing more than a loosened rivet on that saddlebag. Tough call on "swerve or not to swerve", but my lane position, along with the fact that I had some room to move, may have avoided something much more serious.
 
had an interesting experience last week while riding a remote mountain road.

saw the deer, got heavy on the brakes, and slowed as i approached.

since the road was traversing a mountainside, to the left side was a near-vertical cliff and to the the right was a drop-off... the deer had nowhere to go, so it started running down the road in front of me.

i followed it for a good quarter mile before it finally found a spot to bound off into the woods. of course, i managed my speed and distance so that i could stop if the deer decided to reverse course.

they sure are graceful runners and jumpers, and at one point the thing was doing a good 35 mph down the road.

ian
 
We just got back from Montana/Idaho...deer are not as big an issue as the bighorn sheep standing in the middle of the road in a mountain curve! WOW:bolt

Deer=graceful...bighorn sheep=WTF? :scratch
 
Watching deer on the road way to close to me for comfort, I observed that the roadway is like ice to a deer. They don't seem to be able to control their direction and really don't have the ability to avoid even if they had the sense to try.

That said peripheral vision is the one think that saved me several times. I have seen them comming from the side lines. Make sure your helmet does not cut off you vision to the the rear and sides. Measure with you hands with and without helmet. I have had them come from beside me jump a fence and into my path. Have not hit one yet but have slamed on the brakes for all they are worth on a few.

Strange thing, one road I ride alot has train tracks on one side. When the train is hauling corn the deer come from across the road to get what falls off from the RR crossing. Damn thing is like a dinner bell. I saw more deer hit in that stretch of road then anywhere. Food for thought??
 
In the last 18 months, my wife and I have each hit a deer. In both cases, the car was totaled.

Things are getting interesting with cars, as electronic stablity control (ESC) becomes the norm.

Sometimes it's hard NOT to swerve, and my favorite example was one trip through Texas. Was following a pickup pretty closely because was about to pass, when a beer can (surely Shiner or Lone Star but probably not Jax) blew out of the bed and directly toward my face.

I swerved, and the Mercedes ESC REALLY (and I mean REALLY) took control of the car to keep it pointed straight. Had I still been in my TRX-tired BMW of the early 1980s I'd have done at least a 360 right there. It's pretty cool when ABS can play with individual brakes and do it without you touching the pedal. Thanks again to the Germans, of course.
 
Back to the original question..

My answer - there is no answer. In many cases there is no time for a decision or even learned muscle memory.

Swerving brings up hazards on it's own. I often wonder how many "one bike or car accidents" are actually people who swerved to avoid an animal (Bambi likely)? I know this has killed people in NJ because a local police officer was killed this way. The reason for the single-car accident was not in question once they played back the in-car video.. it clearly shows a deer jumping in front of the car, the car swerving and the officer loosing control of the car with the resulting crash.
 
There are regions and local areas where deer and deer strikes are more prevalent. For instance, deer collisions are much more frequent in Pennsylvania and Texas. Here in the Northwest, those lush farm valleys are prime for deer, who appreciate the nice grass.

Over the years I've noticed that most riders tend to maintain speed in deer zones, which sets them up for collisions. I happened upon a deer strike a couple of years ago shortly after a rider had slammed into a deer. The rider was lying unconscious across the centerline; the deer was dead in the ditch. Miraculously, the emergency crew arrived, and the rider was transported to a regional hospital ER--and survived.

But, that occasion certainly got my attention. When entering a signed deer zone, I ease off the throttle and cover the front brake. I've had other riders pass me in such situations. But I believe that braking is my best option. Even if I can't avoid a collision, I want to be going as slow as possible at the point of impact.

IMHO deer have developed instinctive "wolf evasion" tactics. There is no point in getting excited at the approach of some other animal/vehicle, until it gets within "wolf strike" distance. (maybe 30 or 40 feet) Then, the deer vaults straight ahead, and takes zig-zag evasive leaps that are hopefully impossible for a wolf to predict. My point here is that the instantaneous direction of the deer is intentionally random, so it's unlikely you can choose a path to swerve around it.

I had a strange (and marvelous) encounter with a buck while driving Sparky the Spyder. The buck leaped across the road behind a pickup and in front of me. I braked hard. But the buck had nowhere to go, since there was a steep bank on the right side of the road. He swung around and I assumed he would leap back across in front of me, but he didn't. Apparently he saw the two bright projector lights on Sparky and froze. I idled on by, and he was frozen like a stuffed deer, not moving a muscle.

So, yes, brake for deer, but slow when in deer-intensive areas and likely times.

pmdave
 

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Interesting comments on the "wolf" reaction David, as it explains the erratic action of deer when in close proximity to a potential crash. I have swerved to avoid a deer hit, when in a car, only to have the deer suddenly turn right back into my path and a crash resulted with a lot of vehicluar damage.

Given that, I too feel the only "somewhat" reliable REACTION is to get HARD on the brakes in a straight line. If directional control is possible, aim for the deer's butt, so its not there when you get there, hopefully.

But really, the only PROACTION choice is to always expect deer when the terrain and conditions "seem" right for them, and slow down. Yesterday, driving my company car, I had a large doe sprint at near full speed right across HWY 2 in Upper Michigan, right in front of me, at about 6:30pm, in bright sunlight, not more than a mile south of Crystal Falls (an area known for many deer).
 
"wolf" reaction

I recall reading that, in Africa, the savannah antelope perform "stotting" when lions are near. This is a sort of high jumping dance, which is to convince the lion that the antelope is healthy and agile, and therefore too much effort to pursue. Technique is typically said to work, even in pretty close proximity to lions.
Makes sense their distant cousins here in North America would develop something similar.
 
I used to commute at night, and had one close encounter with a deer and one with a coyote.
With the deer, I was riding my old '78 R80 (one front disc brake and rear drum brake) when a deer came out of the ditch less than 100 feet in front of me. Fortunately for me I was slowing down for a speed zone. I actually locked up the brakes hard enough to skid the back wheel, an amazing feat for that bike, and missed that deer by inches.
I was on the freeway riding my '97 RT when the coyote came from out of the median, and I reacted by accelerating past it. If I would have tried braking, I would have probably hit it.
 
I agree that hard braking, generally, is probably the best action, if there's time for a reaction.

My best riding buddy was headed to work early one morning on his new Connie, running about 60~65 mph, when a yearling doe ran in front of him from the side of the road. He said that he barely had time to even realize the deer was in front of him before he hit it, and had no time to even start braking. Amazingly, he managed to keep the bike upright, got it stopped, and then let it fall over. First thing he noticed was his seat was missing. Looking back down the road, he saw the seat laying about 30 feet past where he hit the deer, so he figures the back of the bike was pretty far off the ground. He swears that not hitting the brakes kept him from going over and down.

After he stopped shaking, he called me to come rescue him. What I saw when I got there was the front of the deer in the middle of the road, and the rest of the carcass on the side. He had literally ridden right through the middle of the deer. We hauled the bike to the dealer, and they pronounced it a total loss. His insurance paid off, and he got to ride off on his second new Concours less than three weeks after he purchased the first one.
 
I hit a doe back in sept 1989 on my honda cx500. On a 2 laner with cornfield on right side,hills on left. Was about 10:30 pm,I was around 50 mph. She dashed out about 20' in front of me,I locked up brakes and she frooze dead center. Next thing I recall,laying in ER. I had on leather jacket,jeans,boots,gloves and goggles. I was 19 and cool(didn't need a helment). I now have 2 plates and indentations on my head. My advice,always scan,cover brake,use high beam and always wear the gear. Ask NAVYDAD about that weird guy he rides with.
 
In Oct 05 I was riding home 45-50 mph, two lane, 2PM, saw a deer off the side of the road about 50 yards ahead. Then I remember sliding down the tarmac watching the K slide down the other side, trailing lots of expensive looking fragmented bits. No idea what happened. Deer may have broadsided me, may have locked em up, dunno. Deer got away. I broke my arm and ruined a really nice helmet. Lesson learned? Helmet good!
 
dead deer all over the highways

I am taking a secondary highway tour from the NW to the SE and I lost count a long time ago of all the deer, antelope, coyote, and sheep carcasses along side the road. They all looked to be fresh kills. In Colorado the nice police officer warned me of moose all over the road. He was not lying. Yes, I am a good rider but there is no defense except wearing the proper gear and saying alert.
:bar I was riding to work in my home town when I saw a deer on the side of the road, eating in the ditch. I slowed way down, the deer saw me coming, and took off across the road in front of me. Later that day i rode the same road back and there was the same deer, dead on the side of the road. If I was in my truck I could have fed the whole crew.
 
Pretty good advice.

Spent my whole life motoring around in 'deer country,' so here's a few suggestions:

1) Before you hit the deer, hit the brakes - HARD! Get on them (ABS a godsend at this moment) and get that bike slowed down as fast as you can - even if you cannot avoid the collison, make it a 30 MPH hit raher than 65.

2) Duck! Lay down on the tank just prior to contact with a large animal - they often catapult over the bike and the windshield does little to blunt the energy of the beast. Sitting upright, as if a 200 lb. animal is going to bounce off of you, rarely has good results.

3) Stay on the roadway - often evasive maneuvering results in secondary collisions with trees, fence posts, barbed wire or guardrails and ends up being worse than those dang forest rats. But if not severely injured post-collision, consider rolling off to the shoulder (or median) ASAP after the drama has subsided, lest an unaware following motorist uses you as a speed bump.

4) ATGATT

Greenwalds advise seems to be fairly sound.

I wished I had practiced it when I hit a deer on the way to the National Rally last week on the back roads of Grants Pass, OR.

Although it seemed I did not have anytime to do anything I did notice I instinctively moved to the left to avoid the deer, which did not work.

Perhaps if I had stayed the course I might have missed the deer. At any rate I had but a second to respond and I think I could have done a better job in braking.

The deer jumped out from the right side of road with no warning. I hit it square at around 40 mph and went down hard. If I had the time and used some of the above wisdom I might have not been injured as bad.

I did sustain a shattered collar bone, 4 broken ribs and various bumps and bruises. :hungover But because of my firm belief in ATGATT the gear did an awesome job in preventing more extensive injuries.

I practice emergency stops all the time but when the hazard suddenly appears from nowhere and you have but a second to respond there's little to do if you haven't spent time honing your instincts.

Chris O
 
worked this time

on my way back from the Redmond rally Cody SD was booked solid as well as Greybull so it forced a night run to Worman. I had my wife aim the PIAA's just right and I rode the center line at 50 mph while I scanned the ditches like a computer. I was pleased at how soon I spotted many deer and prong horns and false alarm horses in pastures. A mistake I made was after pinning the brakes and slamming my wife into me to miss a deer in my lane I laid on the horn at about 30 feet out. The deer would have cleared but the horn tuned her back across my path and the close call made for about 10 feet clearance when driving through. 20 miles later again at 50 mph I pinned the ABS brakes again. Slam came the wife and this time what I thought was a coyote eating road kill quickly came into veiw as 4 large racoons all balled up together for some reason. they never moved and I was down to 10 mph when I drove through the pile missing them with the wheel but bashing them with the hepco beckers. My advise, never drive faster than what road you can see can be stopped within at night or day and lower your risk in most of the ways mentioned. Oh by the way I also had near misses with deer near Estes and Flamming gorge both about 1 pm in the middle of the day.

Hot Springs Ar (DEER HEAVEN)
2007 R1200GS well farkled
 
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