What is the best strategy if you're about to hit a deer with your car?

Question

Let's say you're driving, and a deer jumps out in front of your car. We'll assume you don't have enough time to completely stop. Which is the best strategy in terms of your own safety? Do you:

A) Hit the brakes in an attempt to slow down as much as possible, but also risk losing control of the car.

B) Do nothing - resign yourself to the inevitability of hitting the deer. Maintain speed and keep going straight.

C) Speed up in the hopes that the deer will roll completely over the car, rather than going through the windshield.

Is there any conventional wisdom about what to do in this situation?

Answer 1

It depends on conditions and speed but usually...Hit the brakes, maintain control but do not swerve....many people go for the ditch or try avoiding the deer which may lead to worse damage or injury. Better to bang up the front end than to total a car going into a ditch or other vehicle. My second nephew did this with three other kids in the car and hit a tree...luckily, no one was seriously hurt but the car was totalled where it could have been repaired had he hit the deer. That's the advice my deputy sheriff brother usually gives out.  It's quite rare that a deer will go through the windshield....most are only a few feet tall in the body. Always watch for bucks following does during rutting season....I've even fixed vehicles where they ran into the side of them...they are so focused on one thing.

Answer 2

This is not a realistic question.  If you have time to react, then you have time to begin to avoid the animal and, more important, the deer has time and believe me.. they are a LOT faster then you.

So.. the answer is to apply the brakes AND the horn, and try to pass to the rear of the animal  (if you can not brake and steer at the same time then that is a whole different question about driving skills).. and buy the deer some time to move.. if he/she does not, then you will, at least, reduce the impact and therefore the damage, and perhaps take the animal to the SIDE of the car instead of across the hood.

Answer B is a guaranteed loss for both you and the deer and

Answer C is improbable.. unless you are driving one of those zero to 60 in half a heartbeat models, your car will not noticeably accelerate in the 3 to 5 seconds you will have before impact.

If all else fails, you will at least have venison for a few weeks.

.

Answer 3

stay on the road and in your own lane.

Answer 4

Deer are out at night---early evening starts feeding time--and looking for a mate----they can travel in groups---they can stop in the road once they see or hear you--so the best wisdom is to SLOW down and act as if they are just waiting to jump out from anyplace--slowing  speed and being an alert driver can help stop in time--or reduce the amount of damage if they do get hit. Swerving can throw a speeding car out of control---doing far more damage by risking a collision off the road. Just slow down and be alert.

Answer 5

slow down as much as safely possible then just before you hit the deer, let off the breaks.

when you break, the front of your car usually tends to dip down.  if you hit a deer in this position, there's a higher chance that it will go through the windsheild.

so, when you let off the gas, the car goes back to normal, so the force will be on the bumber and not the hood.

oh and in reponse to its better to hit a tree or a ditch than the deer... with my insurance at least, the deer is considered an 'act of god' and did not increase my rates and i did not have to pay a deductable.  however, if you hit something else trying to avoid the deer, your rates will increase and the deductable will come into play.

Answer 6

Brake first, look for a safe place to steer, off the brake, then steer without "swerving"........."swerving" might cause you to lose control or roll........steer deliberately and minimally....this would be a "brake and avoid" manoeuver.

If you can't avoid hitting the deer, then remember that deer don't run backwards, so look at the rear end of the deer, so that you might hit only the back end as it runs......

Deer are usually running across the road, and usually they run into you (I have had two experiences with deer attempting to jump out over my car, and running into the rear quarter panel of my car.......both were during nighttime hours (dark)......

Answer 7

call your insurance agent

Answer 8

Put your foot down and kill it so it dosent have to live through pain

Answer 9

Apply the brakes in an attempt to slow down as much as possible, but maintain control of the car.