OH DEER!

When you live in rural northeast Wisconsin you see a lot of deer. Not all of them are in the woods. I have sat in my garage and watched them walk up my driveway. We had run of them run through our basketball game. I have a large rock – my thinking rock-. I have had them practically walk right into me as I sit still. I remember talking to one and it tilted its head and listened before finally leaving. I have also hit more than I care to count with my truck, my car and even my motorcycle. All of them ended with little or no damage to my equipment. Can't say the same for the deer.

Be Aware! Seeing deer before they hit the road and anticipation is the key to avoiding the collision. If you can stop safely or slow down that's great. I always anticipate that the deer will cross the road.

Never swerve to miss the deer! You can do more damage to your rig taking it off the road than hitting the deer. You might hit the deer anyway. Slow down as much as you can and go straight. Chances are the deer will move or at least fall down before you hit it. Stay in control of your vehicle.

I have done a lot of things in my life. Some people around here just know me for one thing. I am the guy who hit a deer with my motorcycle and rode away. I was lucky. Most deer motorcycle collisions do not end well. Maybe it was not all luck. I was trained to “just hit the deer”. That is the thought that entered my head just before the collision.

My wife was on the back of my Honda Shadow 1100. It was dusk-a prime time for deer strikes. We had just turned onto a county road and I was going through the gears. There was a deer standing on the small shoulder. I tried to slow down. Just as I was saying to myself “please deer don't cross the road” it did. That advice never swerve to miss the deer came into my head. I kept the bike straight and I hit the deer. The front fender- wheel hit the deer near the front shoulder. The deer hit me in the shin and then my wife in the right leg pulling Roxanne's leg back as it went by. I stopped the bike. Rox asked what was that? She was OK. My shin was throbbing and I was not sure if I could walk.

I decided to ride up to the closest grill and bar about 2 miles away. Just in case I could not walk, at least we could get help. We got off the bike and limped into the bar. We must not have looked good. They asked if we were OK. I said that I wasn't sure and we had just hit a deer with the bike and I swear the bar emptied to go look at a crumpled up bike. As we walked out of the rest room determining that I was bruised but OK the patrons were re entering the bar shaking their heads. They could see that we had hit a deer but none of them had seen a biker ride away from a deer strike. When you hit a deer the police are supposed to be called. The county deputy came to the bar and looked at the bike. Imagine the scene where the other people in the bar, Rox and I and the deputy all standing in the parking lot checking out the bike. The deputy had gotten the call for a motorcycle deer collision and feared the worst. He asked me what I did and I recited what I learned in driving school-never swerve to miss the deer.

Comments (6)

Jeff Clark

Jeff Clark of Kewaunee, WI has been driving a truck for 24 years. He has been an owner operator for 11 years.

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Reminds me of the one overnight I took Molly on. It wasn't a deer, but a dig that darted out across the roadway. I was poised to travel on through the animal if he continued his path, but as I heard a shriek from Molly in the passenger seat of the rig, it startled me enough to slightly swerve. Thank goodness the dog didn't get the wrath of my bumper, but I had to explain to her the "never swerve for an animal" philosophy. We still joke about it to this day. Glad you two pulled through that motorcycle hit okay...I too have heard of much worse outcomes with cycle vs. animal collisions!

April 06, 2014 15:09:36 PM

Thanks-Kurt and Beth: Over the years I have seen a lot of damage from "missing the deer". I will always feel lucky to walk away with just bumps and bruises from the motorcycle/deer collision.

April 05, 2014 10:25:35 AM

Not swerving to try to miss a deer is a message that needs to be told more. I know too many that have totaled cars in the trees and telephone poles after swerving. I think if it is difficult to hit a deer with a 600mph bullet, then a 65mph car or truck has a pretty good chance of missing too, so maintain you lane position, and slow down to reduce the impact if there is going to be one.

April 03, 2014 18:33:59 PM

That is so scary! It must be difficult to react in the opposite way that you want to. I will definitely remember this in the future! Thanks for the great advice.

April 03, 2014 15:45:01 PM

The one that ran through are basketball game was during hunting season.

March 31, 2014 11:50:47 AM

Great advice Jeff. Its also likely during rut season for a second deer to be following the first deer so be on the look out for the second deer.

March 31, 2014 10:53:35 AM