Likelihood of a Deer/Vehicle Collision

[Bengt_Phorqs]

Mrs. Phorqs sent me this link that shows the statistical likelihood of a deer/vehicle collision in the lower 48 states of the USA.   http://www.statefarm.com/_pdf/collision_likelihood_09.pdf
While it's not too bad in Texas where we live, some states in the upper midwest have very high probability.  I think down here we probably have a higher percentage of hitting armadillos and feral hogs.  

Let's be careful out there now that the days are getting shorter.

[Lucky_Lou]

Not much chance of hitting a deer where i live the last wild one was shot by Robin Hood in 1175AD
Lou

[alexznam357]

Bengt and Lou...I've hit 3 deer here in Ohio in 20 years...actually, my last car ("Ruby the Deerslayer"... hit them. I begged Ruby not to kill, but she had an unquenchable bloodlust! A few years back I was riding my R90/6 through the wilds of western West Virginia around 10 pm and saw 50 or more deer along US 33...herds of them every few miles...I kept my speed at 45 mph for several miles since they were walking right out into the highway.

[k_enn]

They show New Jersey as 1:182.  But I am sure it will get worse.  Those deer have now expanded from the farmlands, woods, and county into the suburbs.  I live just about 15 miles from New York city, in an area where it is all built up with single family houses on lots that about 75 x 125 feet.  Deer are now in the area, eating shrubbery.

At least I am prepared in my truck, with its Bambi Bumper --- steel winch bumper with headlight/hood protection.  

k_enn

[Ed Miller]

They must only have 1 deer in HI.

I wonder why Oregon is sitting there with more deer than the surrounding states.  That's weird.  I see them all the time.

[Bob_Roller]

Deer aren't as much of a problem here in Arizona, but if you travel about 75-100 miles north, and east of Phoenix, up into the higher elevations, elk are the hazard .

Elk cows average 500 pounds, and bulls 700 pounds .

It's about the same as hitting a cow, or a horse .

[Dave 2]

In Parts of Maine moose are a real problem because of not only their weight, but because of their height. their bodies tend to be at windshiels height so they come into the car, not good [smiley=lolk.gif]  

[nhmaf]

Hmm, I don't know about the NH statistic - I've come waaay too close to deer pile-up on numerous occasions to agree with that low a statistic.  Last year I had a herd of them cross the road right in front of me on a dark and rainy night.  How I managed to steer through them and keep the 700 pound Kawasaki from going down on the rain-slicked road I'll never know, but I'm grateful that I was able to do it, with some divine intervention I'm sure.

On the other hand, I did hit a deer with my truck while in Vermont a few years ago.

We've also got a fair&growing number of moose here in NH - not as many in upstate Maine, but I've encountered moose both in the woods and on the roads in NH.  For some reason, we've also had alot of black bear running across the roads the past year or two.   They aren't that easy to see, but they are usually running pretty fast when I see them scooting across the road.

[dav]

wildlife & bikes dont mix ...we all have had close encounters & for some unlucky riders have met face to face .....but there's one thing i just dont understand with our furry little critters,  you spot a animal on the side of the road munching down some grass with his mates etc you see the animal & take action (slow down etc) then the grass eaters leap, run into your path, WHY!!! why dont they run the OTHER way, why do they run into path of danger & not away from it...

[Bob_Roller]

While we're on the subject of animals in the road, do deer whistles, or any other sort of device really work?

My LS came with them installed .

[dav]

While we're on the subject of animals in the road, do deer whistles, or any other sort of device really work?

My LS came with them installed .

well if you ask the companies who make them they work 100% of the time, but who really knows, how would they test these device's...its like wetsuits manufacturer's saying "wear our shark repellent suits & sharks wont attack you"....but would you still trust it?   me, no way in hell...the animals are going to do what the animals are going to do....

thats my 2 cents worth [smiley=bmw_smiley.gif]

[nhmaf]

As to deer whistles, I think that I saw a test on TV concerning them, and they didn't seem to affect the deer in any measurable way.  They might or might not hear it - or if they hear them, they may not associate the sound with danger, and continue to do whatever it is that they are going to do.

When I am in the woods hunting, I can hear a car traveling on a paved road a quarter mile away.  On a dirt road, sometimes further.  Deer can hear much better than I can and I don't think that they need whistles to know that there is something there - they just don't associate the car with danger, and/or cannot determine how far away/how fast the car (or bike) is traveling.

But, the whistles make some people feel safer, and it stimulates the economy.  I guess that amounts to something.

[k_enn]

<snip>there's one thing i just dont understand with our furry little critters,  you spot a animal on the side of the road munching down some grass with his mates etc you see the animal & take action (slow down etc) then the grass eaters leap, run into your path, WHY!!! why dont they run the OTHER way, why do they run into path of danger & not away from it...

You mean like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL1uFjSbvnA


k_enn

[MrRiden]

Yeas ago while living in the NJ / NY highlands there were some nights that you had to shoulder them firmly off the road to make headway. I gave up riding the lake roads at night. It was like being at a crowded subway!

[Altritter]

Deer can hear much better than I can and I don't think that they need whistles to know that there is something there - they just don't associate the car with danger, and/or cannot determine how far away/how fast the car (or bike) is traveling.
 

I'm sure there are other mammals as stupid as a deer, or more so, but I can't think of one at the moment. Deer (at least our Eastern White Tail species) are about 99% hard-wired instinct and 5% intelligence (and that might be generous). I live in the suburbs, and I don't hunt them (though the thought of a crossbow has occurred to me). Nonetheless, there is a herd of at least 6 that routinely devours everything green that they can find on our property. IMHO, a deer is about as desirable as a 150-pound rat.  

I've seen a study indicating that the whistles are useless. The purported reason: a deer will not react to a perceived threat until it receives 2 sensory inputs, e.g., seeing and hearing. Thus, the "deer in the headlights" phenomenon. Another characteristic: deer supposedly will bolt in a more or less straight line in the direction they are facing when instinct tells them to run. If this is correct, then we should never expect a deer to turn/u] and run away.

Our neighborhood is loaded with the pests. (6 years ago our daughter hit a deer with our car (rather, the deer hit her) about two blocks from our house. Fortunately, our daughter was driving extremely slowly, and the deer ran straight into the grill, then ran away. No injury, only a minor crack in the Ford's cheap-a$$ plastic grill.

We've found one technique to be effective. Soon as we see a deer, we slow down (duh) and blow the horn. Not a short beep, but a long, continuous blast. So far, it has worked both on the highway and in our neighborhood. Deer don't like the noise, and they trot in the opposite direction.

Stories told of bucks attacking bikes during the fall rut.