I Hit A Deer :(

Sunday at 5:30 am. Doing 35 in a 30 on a rural but settled (has houses) road. I see a flash of a small doe's head in my passenger headlight and WHAM.

I said E36 M3 out loud and came to a quick, safe stop and turned around. High beams on, slowly searched for her but she was gone.

Had my phone ready to call police non-emergency number if she was A) still alive or B) a hazard in the road but nothing, no where.

As I turned back around I noticed my lights were still working. I was grateful for that but decided to wait till I got to work to examine the damage. By the time 630 rolled around it was light out so I got out and inspect the damage or should I say absolute lack of damage. All I found was a little bit of hair on my license plate frame. Pretty bummed out about the whole thing.

But now I have an opinion question and a physics question: my friend sent me a Facebook post from a guy that lives right near where the collision occurred. He said he found a puddle of blood (from my deer?) at the end of his driveway and implored the readers to slow down because the speed limit there is 30 mph. He somehow concluded that whoever hit the deer was speeding (a bit) In that area, you round a sharp corner and it straightens just where the collision occurred. I will readily admit to driving 35mph in a 30 zone but certainly not more than that. So my question is: is that, from a moral standpoint not a technical standpoint, speeding? He made it seem like the deer was only killed because whoever hit her was speeding (a bit) what would be the difference to the deer whether I was driving 30 or 35?

How does this guy, with no clue what kind of vehicle was even I nvolved (does it matter that if it was me, in a Yukon XL ) assume whoever hit the deer was speeding?

He seemed like a reasonable guy but the comments following were about speeders and how dangerous they are etc.

I already feel awful but I don't think that deer was hit because I'm a "speeder".

Am I being too sensitive?

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I think it's more of he sees people speeding through his neighborhood ask the time and just assumed.

Deer are very resilient. You probably nicked it, when it froze in your headlights. I believe you did the right thing, by stopping and looking for it. My guess is this person has had a number of cars that did not negotiate that turn, probably due to speeding. Unless this resident is Dick Tracy, looking for a crime, don't lose sleep over it. Just consider yourself and the deer lucky enough to walk away. You may have been doing 30, due to speeedo error.

First off, did he see a deer or did he see a pool of blood? If all he saw was a pool of blood, then he didn't see any injuries and for all we know a slow moving car with something sharp on it hit the animal and caused it to bleed. In fact, deer are such stupid creatures I wouldn't rule out the possibility that it ran in to something all on its lonesome.

Yes, 35 in a 30 is, in the most technical sense, "speeding". And, yes, a 16-17% increase in speed will result in an increase in the force when you hit something. You're travelling 6 feet per second faster which isn't going to buy you that much time when it comes to your reaction time for a deer jumping out in front of you.

I wouldn't sweat it. It's possible that the guy's just a blowhard jerk. It's more likely that there are a lot of people that really fly down that road at way over the limit and it's got him fired up. In my own neighborhood there was a slight kerfuffle a while back because of a guy with a louder exhaust and a manual transmission downshifting as he went down the hill. Despite doing only 20 mph in the 25 zone (with most of the folks going by at over 40mph), the noise gave everyone the impression that he was speeding and he became something of a target for these folks.

If I were you I would just agree with that guy and be thankful you weren't speeding. It could have done a lot more damage to your car and who gives a rip about a stupid deer.

Deer hits happen. 5mph isn't going to make a difference if it decides to run into you. Have you hit a deer before? Usually when it happens they're running full speed before they even get to the road so the only way you have a chance to see them coming is if it's not dark and the area around the road is clear for a good distance.

Oh, and glad you're ok.

I don't think that extra 5mph would make a massive difference in the damage to the deer. I also don't think that extra 5mph would increase your reaction time enough to have prevented the hit.

I had a deer run out in front of me on the bike one day while going 30mph and was close enough that I could have slapped his ass as he went by. I was looking the direction he came from and from the time that I saw him, until he crossed in front of me, I didn't even have time to hit the brakes. Deer are suicidal and a huge danger. Don't beat yourself up over it. You did society a service.

If you were doing 40 or 45 you would have been at that spot earlier and missed the poor deer.

Deer are not good with traffic and will hit cars as much as cars hit them. Not much you can do.

Well PITA (Pain in the ass) does. any way deer are only good for two Points in the killing of Pets Score card. Cats and Dogs are worth 3 points,humans are Instant winners, but you must stop to claim them, But if they are in a cross walk you go straight to Jail don't pass go.

I didn't hit a deer, a deer hit me. The front bumper of my Miata was fine, but the light and fender were wrecked. The deer ran off. Had I been going a little slower, the deer would have had time to cross in front of me and I would have killed it with my front bumper.

So speed actually saved this deer's life.

I feel better after these replies! Some funny ones too!

I've had close calls but never a real strike like this one.

In reply to Woody:

You posted that didn't you? I think I remember that.

My mom's old boss was once driving north into the middle of nowhere, northern Wisconsin. It was rooting season, AKA deer-insanity season. He stopped at a stop sign, waiting for a car to pass by, and out of nowhere a deer runs out of the woods and into the back of his stopped van. It then turns and takes off back into the woods. He gets out to inspect the damage. While looking at the back of his van, a deer runs out of the woods on the other side of the road, rams into the front of his van, and then runs back into the woods. Sometimes deer are just jerks.

Random math: At 35mph, you have 36% more kinetic energy than at 30mph. The difference in damage between those two speeds will be significant.

Edit: Kinetic. Doh.

I've seen deer run straight into the side of a stopped car before, so... Yeah, they're not so smart.

I had a no-damage deer strike in the Jeep last summer. Came around a right-hand curve on a 55mph road doing 60-ish early in the morning (a bit before 6, IIRC) and there was a little spotted fawn standing in the middle of my lane. I had oncoming traffic, so I couldn't go wide coming out of the turn to miss the fawn. No chance in hell of stopping in time once I saw it, so I tried to get tighter in the turn (into the shoulder), but I didn't quite get over far enough. Clipped the deer with the corner of the bumper and the left front tire. Not a mark on the Jeep...

I felt bad for the poor fawn. It definitely didn't survive. I watched the thing go flying, land in the opposite shoulder and spin to a stop

In reply to ProDarwin:

Gee, thanks!

Fitting name you have too, considering this thread!

I'd reply back that I hit the deer, and it didn't damage my truck at all because speed was not a factor. I'd then rant about people that make assumptions.

But that's me.

In reply to MDJeepGuy:

I like that!

Dude probably sees people speeding by his house all the time. Sees a pool of blood at the end of his driveway and is sure they are related. Don't take it personally, guy just needed someplace to vent. He is the one who has a pool of blood at the end of his driveway after all. I recommend just letting it go.

ebonyandivory wrote: In reply to Woody: You posted that didn't you? I think I remember that.

I Hate Deer

In reply to Woody:

Did I really remember a thread you started 9 years ago?

ebonyandivory wrote: In reply to Woody: Did I really remember a thread you started 9 years ago?

I actually saved that headlight cover, and last week I hammered it back into shape to use on another car. I referenced the deer thread in a new build thread, but that was only a day or two ago. So unless you saw that thread, then yeah, I guess you did remember the other one.

I hit a deer once just before the braking zone into turn 1 at summit point, I don't recommend doing so.

I've clipped at least 3 dear, and full hit 2. All 5 times they ran off. I would rather hit one with a 12ga slug or a .308 than my car.