Car hits Deer

Sounds Like You Were Lucky

...and sounds like the Prius did what it was supposed to do.

Good luck getting your baby back in shape.

 

You were very lucky. I too yesterday had a close encounter with a deer. Fortunately for me we didn't actually connect - but it was way too close for me. Keep us updated, but the most important thing is you are all right.

 

But how did the deer finish up?

 

Most driving experts recommend NOT trying to avoid deer if they dart out in front of you - they see far more serious injuries from drivers losing control while trying to avoid colliding with deer than they do from head on deer collisions. In most cases, the deer is short enought that if you do hit it, it's going to hit the hood of the car and then continue up over the windshield rather than come in through the windshield.

 

When I was still doing a lot of contract process control work at paper mills, scattered throughout Manitoba and NW Ontario, the big danger for me was moose.

Unlike deer, you won't see a moose's eye glow at night. Those things are huge too, think Clydesdale horse. Never popped a moose but have come very close.

I did pop a deer once with a company truck. The impact killed the deer but shouldn't have been enough to disable the truck. The transmission cooler line came off and I got less than a km down the road before losing the auto.

 

In my case (94 Merc Sable) I was on a rural highway at 4 AM, coming back from visiting a friend. I was using my brights, watching for deer. When this happened, though, the highway was getting busy, and there was an oncoming semi. I was also approaching a short bridge (the kind you cross in about a half second at highway speed), so I didn't have anywhere to dodge to. Both the bridge and the semi would have done a bit more damage than the deer. The deer was stopped on the side of the road, and I was already pretty close to it when I saw it. I started slowing down, and then the deer took another step forward. I locked up the brakes, and that's when the deer decided to run across the road. I hit the rear end of the deer, so the deer impacted the left (driver's) half of my car. The mechanical stuff inside seems fine, but my hood was bowed a bit and curled down where the impact happened. The left front quarter panel was also dented, so I think I spun the deer around when I hit it.

I never used to believe in deer hunting, but now... X__X

 

Speaking of hitting a moose, check this out:

http://www.strangepolice.com/content/item/103838.html

Believe it or not, the person driving the car received very minor injuries. You'll note the car has Ontario plates, the central and especially NW portion of Ontario is infested with moose.

 

Yep, your jpeg worked. Oww. The mismatch between the quarter
panel and the A pillar looks especially nasty, but hopefully that's
just the quarter-panel piece itself. Which I think is removable
via a few bolts, i.e. not part of a unibody... but while you're
in there you should probably look for nontrivial bending of the
underlying framework and surrounding stuff too.
.
I wonder if those little whistles you can glue onto your bumper
to theoretically scare off deer actually do anything?
.
_H*

 

No, they don't work. Amazing how a gadget can be sold based on fear of something, with no proof of efficacy.

 

ouch, that picture looks pretty painful. that front fender is definitely smoked. i hope they get it fixed up for you asap.

i also really hate deer, but have never hit one in my car. everyone else in my family has, though.

good luck and let us know how this turns out.

 

I don't hate deer, I just hate hitting them. What we need is more wolves.

What about armadillos? Do they do much damage?

We almost hit a porcupine once... That probably sucks. Anyone know if the quills can puncture tires?

 

OUch ...HOW'S the car....seems like you'll do OK..only like 2 leg dears, not the 4 legged deers..so no concern about the wildlife... good thing you'll have your baby back before Christmas.

 

I work for an insurance company, and adjusters always tell us that if you are headed for a deer (cow, moose, etc), hit it, do not swerve off the road or into other cars. If you hit the animal, it is registered as a comprehensive claim (act of God). If you swerve and hit a guardrail or another car instead, it is a collision loss and could raise your premiums. So much for humanity.

There have been others on this community recently that hit deer and had a lot more damage, so it looks like you got pretty lucky. Let us know how it turns out!
--
Hillary