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Deer suck

5K views 56 replies 40 participants last post by  Straightjacket 
#1 ·
Just wondering how many of you have had close calls with those four legged motorcycle hating critters I like to call venison? Its like I'm a food plot on wheels and this time I couldn't avoid the little beast. A corn field planted right up next to the road and I never had a chance it happened so quick. Lucky for my wife and I we were only going 40ish and both of us had helmets on (pavement is not very forgiving).I don't know if my wife will get back on a bike because that was always a fear she had. I on the other hand will continue to ride because I truly enjoy the open road. So how common is this event?:yikes:
 
#27 ·
Yep been there done that on a old scoot after working a 12 hour shift I had a dumb azz that decided to head butt my ribs at 60 I only saw her for a millisecond before impact. I didn't go down, but I lost my breathing for a long time, I then rode home 30 miles to go to hospital to get check out. I felt as if I might have a broken rib. I lucked out only bruised but I walk away. I was sore for a whole month. I hope to never relive but the dumb deer will never be able to she sustained head trauma and died. I do appreciate the linked brakes on vtx I have slammed them on a few times since!
 
#28 ·
Right in front of me


Last year, on my way to work in the morning, the car immediately in front of me hit a doe that darted out into the road. Which means, if I had left my driveway 5 seconds sooner, it might have been ME :yikes:.

Take note, VTX brothers and sisters, of those places in the roadway where you spot whitetails. They have there trails! If you remember where they are, and slow down and proceed with caution, you decrease your chances of accidents!
 
#31 ·
Deer

I hit an 8 pointer 2 years ago coming home from work at 2 am. I hit it just a few weeks before wi bow hunting season was to start. I always used the horn and a reasonable speed before that. But this one came out from a cut alfalfa field and i never seen it till it was jumping across the road. Totaled the bike and my knee. And to make it even worse the buck was in velvet and my wife gave the deer away after i left in the ambulance. But it made me more motivated to get out of bed for the wi gun deer hunting season. Lol
 
#32 ·
The problem is that the DOT keeps putting the Deer Crossing signs in higher traffic areas. They need to move them to more rural areas where there is little or no traffic.
Maybe in school zones where vehicles are already going slow. :mrgreen:


Google "Donna Deer Lady" for an explanation.
 
#33 ·
I had one to jump off a embankment in 2008... it didn't hit my bike.... It landed on my head flopped around in my lap kicking and bellowing .... till I went down..... then I stomped it to death..... anger..... forced my only injury from the incident ..... pulled muscle in my leg from stomping....:oops:
 
#39 ·
We don't have deer here, but we do have wild goats. I had one sprint across the road out of nowhere two years ago & I T-Boned it @ 40mph. Did a nasty high-side. The bike was OK (broken shifter toe piece and left rear turn signal, and some tupperware rash) but I ended up with a cracked scapula, two cracked ribs, a cracked finger and twisted ankle. It would have been MUCH worse had I not been fully geared up...

The next year a herd sprinted across the road when I was going 65mph. Scared the Pelosi out of me...

Wild goats are like deer, but not as smart...
 
#42 ·
This is a great thread. Love hearing about Roos and wild goats. Who knows........might have another member from the Middle East telling us about camels. I'll be keeping an eye on this one.
 
#43 ·
I ride among the deer on a regular basis, you see I live on a farm surrounded by other farms and the corn/soybean fields come right up to the edge of all the roads.

I have to drive along almost two miles of corn fields to get to my house.

Deer are all over the place, especially in the evening hours you can see your light reflecting back from their eyes.

Have I ever had a close encounter with them? NO!!!

Because I know they are out there I am very proactive about avoiding collisions.

Roads here are 30 MPH and 40 MPH posted, those are max speeds for ideal conditions and just before sunrise and before to after sunset are NOT ideal road conditions when there is wildlife.

Once I turn off the highway onto the back roads where lighting is non-existent and visible is minimal I begin randomly blowing the horn on the bike/car.

I have seen deer run away from me when I do that, but never have they run towards me.

Have I ever hit a deer?

Yeah once in my truck I hit three of them at one time on 6 lane divided highway, they were literally going from behind a WAL-MART to a shopping center on the other side of the highway.

Now who the hell would expect to see deer running across a 6 lane divided highway in a well developed area?

Why didn't I see them?

Because I was distracted by the dozen or more deer that were coming over the berm behind the WAL-MART.

Who knew deer shopped at WAL-MART.

That incident occurred just off of Interstate 95 and Maryland Rout 24.
 
#44 ·
I ride among the deer on a regular basis, you see I live on a farm surrounded by other farms and the corn/soybean fields come right up to the edge of all the roads.

I have to drive along almost two miles of corn fields to get to my house.

Deer are all over the place, especially in the evening hours you can see your light reflecting back from their eyes.

Have I ever had a close encounter with them? NO!!!

Because I know they are out there I am very proactive about avoiding collisions.
I have almost the same environment - It's 7 miles to the freeway - everyone in my area has a smashed up vehicle by deer.
Knock on gold plated wood - I have escaped the 35 years of it, by a hair.

At 55, 3 horns blip every 1000 feet roughly - Lights always on HighBeam - their heads pop up - they head back into field edge of trees far ahead of time.

The second I dim the lights for oncoming - Furry azz just makes it past by an inch at 55.
Their hoofs in 4 wheel drive can be heard trying to get traction.

One has to understand why it's that last second they jump out.
Vs the ones in full gallop spooked - or during the day.
It took a few years to figure it out for the night crashes.

With their head down -
approaching lights on low beam cast a shadow that they see of themselves out the corner of their eyes.
As the lights get closer - their shadow moves faster/further - they see this as an all out attack.
Venison on a stick event.

Every night strike will be with LowBeams & no horn.
The One reason late night on freeway, I always follow semi's - vs me hit the deer - and semi gets us both.
Solo - HighBeams - Horn for no reason is hit every 2000 ft in those zones.
Late Night cross country tours are a pain.
 
#45 ·
Thats why I'm here!

The reason I'm here now is because I just hit one on my 2011 Stryker. Like others have said, no time to react. Mine was in full bolt mode coming from a side road out of a vineyard. Hit it at 60-65mph. HARD impact, remember sliding down the road starting to bounce as I hit the dirt on the other side of the road,another hard impact(metal mile marker) blacked out, coming to on the side of the road in the dark. I ended up with my leg broken in two places,4 broken ribs,broken clavicle,punctured lung,lacerated liver. 3 days in ICU, 2 in a regular room, and a month in a wheel chair and sleeping in a chair in the living room. Bike was totaled, only thing I have left is the bent up bloody spike air filter that broke off in the deer.
I learned a couple of things from this accident,
1.Have something reflective on your gear and or bike. Mine was all blacked out and so was my gear. Three cars passed me without seeing me before one came back. That can be along time on a back road, and I would have been run over if I didn't slide off the road!
2.Keep your cell phone on your person, it doesn't do any good on your bike 100ft. down the road!

From now on for me personaly, deer season is for hunting not riding, especialy at night!
Ride safe guys and gals.

I did get a nice 02 X C model out of the deal, just rode it yesterday.:mrgreen:
 
#46 ·
I've had several close calls with deer here in Michigan. Last year I was just accelerating onto the freeway on the X with my wife right behind me in her SUV.... I missed a large doe by about 3 feet but my wife must have better aim because she didn't miss her at all:yikes:
 
#47 ·
The reason I'm here now is because I just hit one on my 2011 Stryker. Like others have said, no time to react. Mine was in full bolt mode coming from a side road out of a vineyard. Hit it at 60-65mph. HARD impact, remember sliding down the road starting to bounce as I hit the dirt on the other side of the road,another hard impact(metal mile marker) blacked out, coming to on the side of the road in the dark. I ended up with my leg broken in two places,4 broken ribs,broken clavicle,punctured lung,lacerated liver. 3 days in ICU, 2 in a regular room, and a month in a wheel chair and sleeping in a chair in the living room. Bike was totaled, only thing I have left is the bent up bloody spike air filter that broke off in the deer.
I learned a couple of things from this accident,
1.Have something reflective on your gear and or bike. Mine was all blacked out and so was my gear. Three cars passed me without seeing me before one came back. That can be along time on a back road, and I would have been run over if I didn't slide off the road!
2.Keep your cell phone on your person, it doesn't do any good on your bike 100ft. down the road!

From now on for me personaly, deer season is for hunting not riding, especialy at night!
Ride safe guys and gals.

I did get a nice 02 X C model out of the deal, just rode it yesterday.:mrgreen:
The Deer I hit did not know or pay attention to the fact that deer season was over.;)
 
#49 ·
Straightjacket that is quite a story and experience. Good to know you're back up and riding!

Just curious if you had any armored clothing on?
 
#50 ·
I use to do that till it spooked them and one ran right on front of me, lucky for me I was in a car and my dads car to boot. :thumbup:

I've never had one spook and run towards the sound of the horn, but you know because of the environment I am always on the lookout for deer.

Rarely are deer out galloping or running unless they are spooked.

We sit on the roof and observe them in the valley and up on the property, they just don't run as a matter of routine.

I should make a couple of runs, with an infrared camera recording and let you see what 50 EYES looking towards you from inside the corn looks like.

Last night I was coming home with my wife and said look at all the deer. She said " where I don't see any deer.

So I turned onto the farm and aimed the Jeep toward the line of corn and then she saw all the eyes my lights reflected out of.

The danger is high around here at the moment because the crops are being cut down where they have not already been cut down and the deer are ALL OVER THE PLACE.

I taught my children to use the high beams, horn, and varying the vehicle speed by downshifting and so far not a once of us here has hit a deer.
 
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