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You will never avoid the deer that is unavoidable....and those of us that have hit deer know this. It doesn't matter how good, skilled, quick, careful or watchful you are. You'll avoid some, and maybe many. The one that rushes from cover and collides with you at speed won't give you time to do anything except maybe grab brakes...if that. The truth is this: if you ride where deer exist you're counting on luck and odds to not have a wreck with one. And of course you do what you can to prevent that, just as I do too. We've hit and killed 4 but thankfully a bike wasn't involved.
Deer density is a problem for many. Where I live there are way too many deer. They destroyed so much plant life here on our farm that I finally resorted to contacting my C.O. He gave me damage control permits. I immediately killed 12 deer while never leaving the yard. I have 10 more permits to use and I intend to use them all. I love deer and get no satisfaction from killing them this way but it's that or let them destroy things. A buck I photographed 3 days ago...
@Bluesrider.df The video demonstrates exactly what happens and the speed in which it takes place. From the moment the deer is seen until impact is less than one second. Nobody can successfully avoid hitting that deer. It was this way with all 4 of our deer-vehicle collisions.
The worst two deer-motorcycle wrecks I've personally seen happened midday. Both riders got an air ambulance ride and both bikes were completely destroyed. The wrecks happened on wide-open state routes in great weather with clear visibility.
The date was 15 April 2015. A deer struck me on the bike at 0530 in the middle of nowhere. I was going 45mph in a 55 mph zone. I was scanning from tree line to tree line then BOOM. Between the time I saw it and it's head hitting my passing lamp was a small fraction of a second. Fortunately I didn't go down. You're either going to hit one or you aren't. There's not much you can do about it.
Deer whistles... what a joke.
I'd say the best thing to carry with you just in case is a change of shorts. I guarantee you will need THAT.
four or five spotted this year while on the bike .
all close to the road and 3 that crossed my path in front of me
all on 45mph roads in wooded residential areas, all in the middle of the day
None were "close calls" thankfully, but be advised, just because it's residential area, doesn't mean diddly.
There are lots of deer in residential areas too
108,047 deer related crashes since the start of 2020.
48 fatalities.
Motorcyclists accounted for 81% of those fatalities.
For most drivers, hitting a deer is a hassle involving a report, insurance and repairs. For a motorcyclist it is literally a matter of life and death or serious injury.
As I ride to and from work, 50 miles round-trip, through Pennsylvania farm country and back mountain roads, I am finding new dead deer carcasses and the remains of other small animals literally every day... 😬
Here's a stat from NJ, where I had my deer strike:
"New Jersey's deer population is estimated to be over 125,000, a number considered too high by biologists who recommend a sustainable density of 5 to 15 deer per square mile...
Some surveys indicate densities as high as 112 per square mile statewide and even higher in some suburban areas."
108,047 deer related crashes since the start of 2020.
48 fatalities.
Motorcyclists accounted for 81% of those fatalities.
For most drivers, hitting a deer is a hassle involving a report, insurance and repairs. For a motorcyclist it is literally a matter of life and death or serious injury.
The one math class I did exceptionally well in college was Probability and Statistics.
To crunch those numbers, and y’all check my math...
81% of 48 deaths is 38.88.
38.88 divided by 108,047 is .0003598, which is .036% chance of being a fatality.
I appreciate you posting those numbers, because it worries me this time of year, having hit two deer in years past in my cars.
But I think I am okay with those odds.
...despite having a wet limb fall and hit my Jeep windshield square in front of my face two weeks ago at 50mph, when I would normally have been on my bike at that time and place.
It can always be something.
Be square with your Maker whenever you roll out...
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