Those darn deer

crashtestdummy · Post by **crashtestdummy** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 10:50 am

Well,

I had my first run in (i.e. collision) with a deer this morning. Luckily I was already slowing down for a stop sign, so I was probably only going about 30. In the end the deer ran away and I was left stunned laying on the asphalt after skidding for 20-30 feet.

I think I still have all of my fingers and toes, even though my left arm and right shoulder are not functioning quite right yet.

My Corazzo jacket faired fine. My cheap and non-armored pants have a few holes in it, but luckily only one of my knees has road rash.

From what I can tell at 5:30 am in the dark, my scooter only has some major scratches and a damaged headlight bezel. I am not looking forward to inspecting it later or riding home.

In the grand scheme of things, I am alive with I think with no broken bones. Could have been much worse. This will just give me more reason to buy those protective pants I have been putting off for the last year.

Did I mention this was my first ride of the season. Bad start some might say.

Take it easy.

Mike

ScooterTrash · Post by **ScooterTrash** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 1:37 pm

That sucks

robtaylor · Post by **robtaylor** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:49 pm

there is some debate whether they actually work, but when i was driving in the country everyday for my commute i put those cheapo "deer whistles" on my jeep.
I bought some for me and my wife and i asked the guy at the auto parts store if they worked and he said
"well, i gottem on my car and i ain't never hit a deer" I'm not so sure i agree with his logic but my wife and i figured that for a few dollars it couldn't hurt (it could look stupid) and was pretty cheap "insurance"

you might want to give them a shot

coopdway · Post by **coopdway** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 3:07 pm

Mike,
So sorry to hear about your run-in with the deer. On my early (3 am) commutes into downtown Mpls, I've ridden one of the two wheelers 3 times in about that many years. It isn't that I don't like riding early, rather that there are just too many creatures, especially down where we are. I sometimes have to kick them out of the way to get to the garage.

I do my very best any more to avoid riding in the dark, watching the ditches to the point that it hurts when I am out riding beyond the daylight hours.

We've hit deer 5 times with our cars and if that next smack has to happen, I want it to happen while I'm inside of something.

Doug

PS. Get those pants and use them, please!

crashtestdummy · Post by **crashtestdummy** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 3:57 pm

Well, it looks like I will have 3-4 weeks to buy the pants, since i have a minor fracture in the elbow. Not even a scratch on my Corazzo jacket. If only i was built that tough.

Take it easy.

Mike

maribell · Post by **maribell** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 4:19 pm

Sorry to hear about that! At least you only have a small injury and and didn't bump your head.

We don't have too many deer issues here. We do have coyote, armadillo, and raccoon issues though. I accidentally hit a coyote with my car a couple years ago.

EP_scoot · Post by **EP_scoot** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 4:24 pm

Mike,
sorry to hear how your first ride ended up. Hopefully you will heal quickly and be out there in no time.

I got 3 deer to my name, all in cars though. I don't even want to imagine what it would be like on a bike.

Kevin K · Post by **Kevin K** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 4:28 pm

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. What area did this happen in?

Also, Aerostich has a smokin' deal on AD-1 pants. I really like mine.

http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/AD1 ... 18196.html

Don't forget that you get a 10% discount if you go there in person.
-K

lojical1 · Post by **lojical1** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 4:30 pm

That really sucks, and glad it wasn't worse. Given that you are still in one piece, I think its alright to point out the irony of your username.

Hope the rest of the riding season is far less eventful for you.

crashtestdummy · Post by **crashtestdummy** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 4:39 pm

Kevin K wrote:What area did this happen in?

It was in Shoreview right near the corner of Gramsie Rd & Mackubin St. He likely lived in Snail Lake Regional Park.

Later
Mike

Wiggins · Post by **Wiggins** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 6:19 pm

Ouch! Glad to hear that you and your scooter are mostly ok.

I work with a guy who bisected a Grizzly in Montana last year with his Harley. He was out of commission for most of the summer and didn't even get to keep the meat!

Deer are a real problem around here at dusk and dawn. Enough so that I wait until it is either completely dark or completely daylight until I go for a ride.

Kyle

NathanielSalzman · Post by **NathanielSalzman** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 6:46 pm

Yeah no fun. Glad you've come away relative unscathed. There are a lot of deer down here in EP and I am just waiting for one to come after me.

Corsair · Post by **Corsair** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 10:12 pm

Glad you're alright!

KRUSTYburger · Post by **KRUSTYburger** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 11:17 pm

Saw this a few weeks ago & immediately thought of it when I saw the post topic... It surprises me every time!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdroLghaYWQ

Same thing happened to me but with a cat. (I didn't hit the cat tho, I swerved & fell). My dad said a friend of his was riding his motorcycle like 65mph & hit a donkey!!! Smashed him up real bad... the donkey was completely gutted! Who knows why there was a donkey in the road to begin with.

jrsjr · Post by **jrsjr** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 12:02 am

Glad to year you are mostly okay. Whew! I hesitate to say this, but, it could have been a lot worse. Hope you heal quickly. Hope your Buddy is okay, too.

MonsterGirl · Post by **MonsterGirl** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 5:48 am

Mike - Glad to hear you're in one piece! Good luck with the recovery and I hope you're back out again soon!

I've always heard hitting a deer on a bike is a done deal for you and maybe the deer. I now know of several people that have come away relatively unscathed. Gear definitely has made the difference, that and a whole lot of luck!

Best wishes!

ScooterTrash · Post by **ScooterTrash** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 5:52 am

Proper user name by the way

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 12:30 pm

I've heard that deer whistles aren't really effective. Still, they're cheap and why not?

I'm fortunate that my riding is mostly in the urban core of Montreal. The main wildlife here are racoons and (as a cat of mind found out to its misfortune) skunks. If there are any four-hooved rats they would be out in the West Island or the woodier areas of Lachine. However, I tend to be mindful of deer during the danger hours (early morning and early evening) when out on rural two-laners. Another reason it is wise to slow down a tad during the twillight hours.

Even worse than deer are moose. There are horror stories out of Newfoundland and Maine about car/moose collisions. The things are basically cows on stilts, with bodies placed at just the right level for the entire weight of the thing to go through a windshield.

zigzag · Post by **zigzag** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 5:42 pm

The deer problem is one of my main concerns (other than ice and speed capability) for considering a Buddy (or any two-wheeled vehicle for that matter) up here.

I'm constantly coming across deer around here. At night (round 8'ish). I hit one (well, he ran into the side--it was a timing issue) with my brand new pickup truck a couple years ago. That was in the morning while taking my daughter to school. I knew it was bound to happen at some point. I just think it could be a huge disaster hitting one on a two-wheeler and you are very lucky if you walk away from the situation.

So that makes me wonder about the practicality of riding one of these things outside of a city in the first place.

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 2:55 pm

zigzag wrote:So that makes me wonder about the practicality of riding one of these things outside of a city in the first place.

No different, IMO, than riding a cruiser or sportbike at the same speed. Smacking into a deer with 600lbs of cruiser is not appreciably different than smacking it with 300lbs of Buddy. You're still going to be in a world of pain. The only difference will be how much vension is left.

Heh. True story. A former girlfriend told me how the huge dent in her car happened. Deer broadsided her while on the highway. She lives in SC, so being a typical Canadian Yankee I said "well, at least you had dibs on the--"

"No, by the time I was on the cell, a pickup was already behind me nabbing the kill."

"Oh."

louie · Post by **louie** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 3:30 pm

an ex coworking hit a deer on his ducati a couple of years ago. an antler went through one of his arms.

so glad you got out of the mishap relitively unscathed.

Keys · Post by **Keys** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 4:12 pm

louie wrote:an ex coworking hit a deer on his ducati a couple of years ago. an antler went through one of his arms.

so glad you got out of the mishap relitively unscathed.

...but how did the Ducati fare?

--Keys

zigzag · Post by **zigzag** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 4:58 pm

Sparky wrote:
zigzag wrote:So that makes me wonder about the practicality of riding one of these things outside of a city in the first place.
No different, IMO, than riding a cruiser or sportbike at the same speed. Smacking into a deer with 600lbs of cruiser is not appreciably different than smacking it with 300lbs of Buddy.

Yes. I didn't mean to suggest scooter/deer vs motorcycle/deer. It's more a question of how much sense does it make to ride either in deer country? You know how it is, you can never tell what they're going to do. They'll come bouncing across the road at times (that's how I got broadsided) during daylight, or they'll run along the side of the road, or they'll just stand stopped in the middle of the road, or they'll just casually cross the road (while you're barreling towards them at 50mph), or as an interesting new twist...they'll just wait at the side of the road (that's what the "locals" seem to be doing this year).

A car is barely a match for a deer and that's on a good day. I grew up in Toronto and never saw a deer (in the city). Since moving to the U.S. I've seen them in the suburbs of D.C. (in Maryland and Virginia) and we have 'em chalk a block out here across from Seattle. I think the deer vs bike issue is something I never thought about until now, since I've started to consider getting a Buddy.

I guess at the end of the day, you could seriously limit your exposure to the risk by just riding during non-deer hours...but then I did get hit by that one deer at around 8:30am...

I should move deer to the top of the list of risks and bump ice down to the second spot. Drunken yahoos tearing up the road in jacked up pickup trucks will have to take the third spot.

Keys · Post by **Keys** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 5:36 pm

Based on my 37 years riding experience, I'd have to say that living your life ruled by what MIGHT happen is a sure way to do nothing.

I've lived and ridden in Colorado, Arizona, Montana and California and have noticed that if you ride aware and undistracted, you can avoid almost anything coming your way.

There are FAR more crazy people than crazy deer and yet most riders seem to be just fine with riding in the city...and DON'T tell me people are more predictable than deer...I drove a truck for 26 years and know otherwise...

--Keys

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 12:47 am

Remember, if you allow yourself to be deterred by the four-hooved terrorists, you have let them win! Put your man-hat on and ride for America!

*ahem*

This discussion has me thinking adding a gun rack and a lever-action .30-.30 to my Buddy is a good plan.

zigzag · Post by **zigzag** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 3:53 am

Sparky wrote: This discussion has me thinking adding a gun rack and a lever-action .30-.30 to my Buddy is a good plan.

Nay, a Gatling gun would work best.

Thanks for the insight on the "deer" problem.

ERik3tb · Post by **ERik3tb** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 3:07 pm

Sparky wrote:
This discussion has me thinking adding a gun rack and a lever-action .30-.30 to my Buddy is a good plan.

You don't need a rack for it. We have a Harley rider here town that has a rifle holster slung on the side so he can carry his 30-06 to and from. Not sure where he would haul the meat tho.

Here I have to antelope, deer, elk, wild horses and moose to contend with. But it's not the animals that are a problem. Drive the speed limit and pay attention. Never "hurry up or you might miss something."

It's the oil field workers and miners that are the dangers of the road.

Modern Buddy

Those darn deer

Those darn deer

Pants