I Hit A Deer :(

In reply to Jim Pettengill:

I'm kinda the same way. I'll take an airbag or 2 to keep me off the steering wheel / dash, but don't make it too sensitive. And I don't need to be surrounded by the damn things...

So, one coyote, one deer, one friggin' wood pecker, a crow and a squirrel.

How am I doing so far?

A coyote? That would tough around here. Granted, if we had coyotes we'd probably have fewer deer...

So far: one deer, one skunk, one fox, and a few birds.

Plus one Canadian goose, but that was intentional, so I don't think it counts. I hate those berkers...

In reply to Ian F:

We've got coyote, bear, and wild cats/mountain lions, and still have too many deer around here.

I guess if we're keeping score though, 4 deer, ton of skunks, a possum, a cat, and a chicken for me. Still not sure why the chicken was running down the road, but couldn't pass it up when I was 18 because how many people have hit chickens?

Back to the stick figure thing for a minute, I've often thought about getting a few packs of stickers and putting them sideways on my front fender like the old ww2 planes, but have been slightly afraid of attracting police attention if they got the joke.

How about the John Deere logo laid upside down?

Btw, coyotes are rampant where I live.

In the summer with the windows open almost nightly, we'll turn the tv down and listen to a pack go crazy for a few minutes then fall silent.

Had one howling his head off in my driveway. Grabbed my 9mm and in my underwear scared him off (by yelling, not shooting) so we could sleep.

I've heard of people hitting bears in northern NJ and the more rural areas of PA, but it's pretty rare. Mountain lions are still extremely rare in PA, although people are starting to see them more often.

In the New England mountains, moose are another issue - hit one of those at highway speeds and you count yourself lucky if you live through the experience.

Probably the weirdest deer sighting (dead) I've seen was on I-95 in Philadelphia. In South Philly. Where the hwy is elevated 20' off the ground for a good bit. Industrial parks as far as the eye can see in all directions. Where it came from and how it got up there is beyond me.

Two towns over (maybe 12-15 min drive) we have had bear sightings. Recently a mother and two cubs.

The local wildlife authorities put out official warnings.

Seems crazy to me that I could conceivably hit a bear in southeastern Massachusetts!

In reply to ebonyandivory:

If I hit a bear, I'd want to make sure it was a goner. Not sure how a bear eating my truck would look on the insurance report...

The coyotes seem to be proliferating big time in my neck of the PA woods. Lived most of my life here and never saw a one up until 4 years ago, with sightings increasing in frequency in the time since. Now this winter I've been hearing a pack of them howling and traveling VERY close to my house at night. I keep the 9mm handy when letting the dog out after dark now.

RevRico wrote: Back to the stick figure thing for a minute, I've often thought about getting a few packs of stickers and putting them sideways on my front fender like the old ww2 planes, but have been slightly afraid of attracting police attention if they got the joke.

This is superb! I may have to get a pack of the stupid things for the XJ

A trucker I befriended when I ran a warehouse years ago told me his son hit a bear on his motorcycle at about 65mph in Colorado.

Bent the highway bar, broke his ankle yet somehow was able to coast to the side thank God.

Can't recall but the bear probably had a headache and walked away.

So on my to work just now (Sunday at ~5:40am) I round that same corner where I hit the deer and where it appeared that I was called out for speeding by looking at blood in a driveway.

Anyway, I round the corner to see a town police radar machine they tow to areas they want to make people aware of their speed, caught me at 34mph in a 30mph zone.

Busted! 4mph over the limit. I'm ashamed of myself! Deer never stood a chance.

In reply to ebonyandivory:

That deer must have been well connected.

Deer use migratory paths. If you see a deer in a particular area, you will see them there in the future. Deer hoves are crap on pavement. Headlights mess, for some reason with a deer's reactions, that's why some effing hunters illegally hunt with them. ALL animals have a tendency to run home, the point where they started from, when panicked crossing the road. THIS INCLUDES HUMANS! Deer are no dumber than us, so shut up on that, please. What you experienced was an accident. It happens. Learn from it and don't sweat it. Doesn't sound like you did anything wrong.