riding in deer country

the cat thread got me thinking
anyone have any tips for the night ride home thru deer country ?
seems there are a lot of young stupid ones out this time of year
anyone ever hit one?(on a bike)
sorry about your cat Jim

 

you can get deer whistles and put them on ur bike.

 

Couple guys in Venturerider.org have hit them.

I came this close a few weeks ago. Mine was in the city. It was dark, and my view was obstructed by the van next to me. If I hadn't reacted when I saw the nose on the van dive I'd be in a world of hurt.

Last week on an early evening group ride (still daylight) one was standing alongside the road chewing a big mouth full of leaves and watching us go by.

I try to avoid riding after dark because of them. At least in the daylight you have a chance of seeing them in time.

So, that's my advice. Ride in the daytime, and pay attention to what the cagers are doing.

 

Another note on avoiding deer,
Slow down after dark (common sense, I know but it bears repeating).
By slowing down, you give them and yourself more reaction time to avoid one another. Deer whistles may or may not work, I've heard arguments in either direction on them.

 

this only applies to some bikes on here........it worked great on my 7.3 powerstroke........STRAIGHT PIPED WHISTLING TURBO! i never see any deer by the road when i am in my truck.

i think i may try the whistle things on my bike, but they might annoy me more then the deer so we will see how they work out.

i see more deer in the daytime then at night, so dont think you are safe because its light out!

 

I have a couple of things to relate to on this subject.

Last year at the sturgis rally someone got a video of a deer jumping OVER a biker. Do a surch on youtube and you should find it. South Dakota has one of the largest deer herds in the country and they are dumb. I've hit them with a car but not on a bike. I think everyone in SoDak has hit atleast one.

Not a deer story but the same family.
A number of years ago while working as a member on a volunteer fire and ambulance squad in Campton NH we got called out for an unresponsive person in the middle of the interstate at about 1 AM. When we got there we found a man in leathers lying in the speed lane with no vehicle in site. Due to what he was wearing we determined he was on a bike. Was he the passenger that fell off and the driver kept on going (you know the t-shirt: If you can read this I've fallen off the bike.) Anyway a search showed up nothing but on close examintaion there were grey hairs in his zippers.

The next morning his bike, A Harley FLH was found almost a half a mile from where he was found with what was determined to be moose hair stuck in the controls on the bent handlebars. The bike had very little damage so it was assumed that he had hit the moose broadside between the legs, the wildshield broke and he was pushed off the bike. No he didn't make it and the moose was never found.

Lastly, I recall the South Dakota School of Mines in association with GF&P studied deterant methods and found the whistles don't work but there is a strtch of highway here that is supposed to be the most heavily crossed highway in the country where they have installed posts along the side that when a vehicle comes near these post have strobelights that turn the deer around. The jury is still out but it looks promising although a bit expensive.

Like Robert said, SLOW DOWN and keep your eyes peeled.

The one thing I noticed while on my big trip was just how horrble the lighting is on these bikes. I rode for a day and a half with a guy on a BMW with PIAA lights on the front. OMG, People could see us fro the west coast I think. I looked into putting on just a fraction of what he had but I don't its possible to install much more than we have already.

The Buff

 

For what it is worth - Deer whistles are out of a deers hearing range. Even if they were in a deers hearing range, you'd have to wonder what a deer would do differently, than say hearing my D&D exhaust, or a harley's straight pipes.

The only effective thing is to slow down, keep your eyes open - better yet - avoid the area if you're really worried about it.

 

great_buffalo - you can get an HID conversion for the H4 style housing, and it is BRIGHT! also it only draws about 1.5 amps when its lit.

 

here's what happens when you meet a deer on two wheels. I found this video a couple of years back and it made such an impact that I still knew where it was.

I think this is valuable and worth viewing just to see how quickly it can happen and how there is absoloutely nothing you can do to prevent it.

Warning!! Video may be a little graphic. The deer did not fare as well as the rider. The guy made it through relatively unscathed (he's just trying to relax while waiting for the ambulance in the end of the video) Like the video says... always wear the right gear.


deer crash video

Here's some pics of the incident

http://hornskeith.com/deerwreck

 

not deer but close to the same idea. my brothers boss was riding down the street the other day on his way to get some lunch when some idiot kid RAN right into him. the kid just ran out into the street and hit him in the knee area just at the front of the motor. when i say kid, i mean an idiot teenager. the guy managed to keep the bike upright and only got some burns on his leg cause he was wearing shorts and the kid wasnt hurt just fell backward to the groung. best part, a cop was sitting nearby and saw the whole thing. told the guy on the bike to be on his way and started letting into the kid about jaywalking and stuff.
be careful out there

 

When I was younger I didn't worry about such things. We used to turn our lights off at night and ride for fun. Dumb, yep.

I live in serious deer country. I try to keep night riding to a minimum. But, there's only so much you can do. Riding near dusk or dawn are nearly as bad, as those are prime time for deer to be active and moving from feed to bed, or vice versa, etc.

Best thing is to slow down and ride towards the center line as much as possible (with high beams on). At least you'll get a split second more reaction time if you're in the middle of the road and a deer comes from your right (as opposed to riding along the right side of the lane). Looking for deer is second nature for me, I've been driving and riding in deer country all my life.

We all have stories. A couple years ago a friend of mine and I rode to the NYS Fair in Syracuse. It's about a two hour ride for me. Well, the ride home was foggy. I was riding my Sportster and the light sucked on low beam. I was still on Rt 81 (four lane, 65mph road) and couldn't see crap. Finally I decided to use my high beam regardless of the traffic on the other side of the divided highway. I flicked it on and RIGHT THERE in the passing lane stood a good sized coyote. Later, in a small town going about 30mph, I saw a large deer cross the road in the fog very near me. It was so foggy that I had to have my face shield up (it was like rain) and I couldn't see far at all, but I saw that deer, yes, ghost-like, pretty clearly. If I was going 50, I'd have hit it. My friend hit a possum on his bike that night (we went separate ways after the concert). Said it made a quite a cracking sound and felt like hitting a big speed bump at speed.

And deer whistles don't work.

 

a guy my father in law knows hit a dear almost 2 months ago now and is still in the hospital. he hit it and went down from the reports I have heard it pretty much skinned his entire right side(not wearing proper gear no leathers or armour) he broke a few bones trashed the bike not a good thing. Where I live it is not out of the ordinary to see 15-20 deer at any given time. I am kinda out in the sticks the deer are everywhere I do have to ride at night at least once a week in town. The best thing really is to slow down be alert and wear your gear it just might save your life...

 

The deer are getting thicker in our area as well, and I had a close encounter about a month ago on my way into work at 6:30 am. I saw a deer in a ditch roadside, and slowed down. The deer bolted across the road about 150 feet in front of me and kept bulletting through the field ont he other side. I was watching in fascination, when my Dad's voice went through my head :" Where there's one, there's likely another". It was only about a second, but as I swung my gaze from the back-end of the deer to the direction it came from, the second one was right there at full speed. I braked, didn't swerve, & hung on. I didn't see MY life pass before my eyes but all 4 of my kids' lives... and I missed it's hind hoof by about 2 feet.

My heartrate was higher than the bike's rpm for the remainder of the ride.

I was wary enough for the first... but WATCH FOR MORE.

 

I'm going to be riding through a LOT of deer country over 4th weekend. Thanks for the reminders to be vigilant.

I've always wanted to see MythBuster tackle deer whistles. I've known plenty of cars that have hit deer with whistles on.

I've had one (so far) close encounter. I came over a hill and about 1/4 mile down picked up the beady eyeballs of a forest rat in my headlight. I put on the brakes and slowed a bit expecting him/her to trot off. Dumb thing jsut stood there (deer in headlights anyone?) until I came to a complete stop about 3' from it. Only when I put my foot down did it snort, stomp the pavement a few times, then bound off.

Dumb and tasty.

 

I hit a Dear, a kid on a bike going down hill fast on the sidewalk, I'm going uphill to the intersection, slow, blinker on, making a right. The kid jumps the curb, shoots diagonally thru the intersection in front of me, and my front tire clips his back tire. I thought I was going to drop it, but it just wiggled a little bit. The kid and his bike had a spectacular tumbling crash.
I was nice enough to wait until he got up before yelling at him.

 

I too have encountered deer on my bike. but fortunately I know what to look for and when.

Deer are more active when the shadows are long or in a more scientific word CREPUSCULAR, This happens 2 times a day DUSK & DAWN
now mind you not all deer have the same instincts , I have seen deer more alot around 11pm here.

While riding I pay close attention of known crossing points usually along a treeline. , Drive way . where they can stay hidden from preditors.

Deer are not the only menice Wild turkeys are as well just as dangerous.

I have more problems with morons on cell phones and tailgating me than I have with deer.

Whats up with that?

 

These kangaroos don't have antlers, but they are tough as old boots, any bike would come second!

 

i was looking for tips to keep my face shield from fogging up and ran across this thread.

good tips here - but i wanted to add that when i am in deer country (and i live in deer country) and the odds are higher of hitting a deer - like early morning, dusk, and they are extra retarded during the rut, etc. i try to make sure i have a vehicle to follow. i don't tailgate - but i don't pass either - this way the brake lights on the vehicle in front of my will give me warning and i have someone running interference for me, so to speak.

 

I've been real lucky so far,never hit one on a bike or in a car.They've almost always either just finished crossing the road,or haven't started across yet,when I get to them,or I spot them well ahead of time.

Guess I've been lucky enough to only come across the smart ones,they just stay at the edge of the road and watch me pass by,almost every time.I suppose they realize that the vehicles always stay on the pavement,so as long as they stay OFF the pavement,they're ok

 

2 years ago this august i was testing a gs850 i was working on and got smoked from the right in the fairing by a doe running out of a corn field.it was just @ dark.i had just enough time to gritt my teeth before i hit the gravel road.i was going about 50mph.no helmet(just happened 1/2 mile from home).i was lucky 5 stapels in my head,mashed my right arm(not broke but badly bruised)cracked ribs.it took many months before i could use my arm proper again and my ribs still ache sometimes.
trust me you dont heal as well in your mid 40's.ride slower at night and keep your eyes open if your in deer country.ive also heard many reports of riders getting injoured by wild turkeys in so.mn.

 

It does happen. i hit one, a two year old buck, on hwy 67 in the Kettle Moraine area here in wisconsin last August. These are perfect examples of things a rider CANNOT control. We all think our skills will keep us safe. I did until a deer popped out of nowhere in full sprint and i was going 60 mph. The time I had to think afforded me the oportunity to hold on and hope I ride through it. Hit the thick part of his neck with the front of the bike and its body swung around and slammed into the side of us. I kept the bike up and was able to come to a stop but not before the impact broke my knee in six places (one being a tibial plateau fracture), dislocated my hip, and tore a ligament in my ankle.

 

chuckles_no did the deer servive????