On Monday morning when the alarm clock launched the radio I was brought into the world with a story about a couple on a Harley who slid their motorcycle 300 feet in an attempt to avoid a whitetail deer. In my half awake, mostly drifting state I still had the presence of mind to question the details of the event. And wonder about riding strategies for deer.
Deer are everywhere here. Everywhere. And despite their tendency to move more at dusk and dawn, they can be found bounding across the road at anytime of day. Anytime. The rider claimed he had to slide the bike to avoid the deer. Is sliding the best option for avoiding deer? And how fast do you need to be going to slide a Harley Davidson motorcycle 300 feet?
By the time I was riding to work my brain was still chewing on the story, turning the details over and over and pondering a few more questions. Knowing the road and location where the accident happened, a place where I have seen dozens and dozens of deer, why would a motorcycle be traveling at said velocity at 6:17 p.m. — a prime deer traffic time? And in one of those moments of clarity I dropped the mental inquiry realizing it was as pointless as asking why someone rides without a helmet or any other choice that varies from my own. We each are endowed with the power of making our own choices. Managing the risk of wildlife collisions is part fate and part rider choice. I like to focus on choices.
The remainder of the ride to work was spent thinking about how people manage the risks involved with deer, or wildlife of any kind. A recent inquiry from a reader in Australia detailed the lasting effects of an unfortunate encounter with a wallaby. Deer, groundhog, dog or wallaby — you don’t want to have encounters.
To be completely honest, I couldn’t come up with many strategies related to deer. If I had to list the biggest risk I face as a rider it would be Bambi. I feel comfortable that the speeding drivers, cellphone users, and incompetent motorists can be fairly managed. But my doe-eyed friends, they are unpredictable. Sort of like the guy who has a heart attack just as he is about to pass you and suddenly you have a head-on encounter with destiny. So with the heart attack and the deer all I can come up with is to slow down, learn the type of environs that deer like to use to cross a road, and pay fierce attention during the times of day that deer are most active. Oh, a remember during hunting season all bets are off. The deer are making mad dashes until the guns grow silent.
Thinking about the 300 foot slide, one hundred yards of Harley inspired sparks, that’s impressive. Thankfully the rider and his passenger survived and were taken to a local hospital when they could be treated and hopefully ride another day.
Riding across the farm lane on the way to work where the dazzling sunlight in the open fields provides expansive visibility and few places for all but the most determine deer to hide I felt reasonably safe and unlikely to do much wildlife induced sliding.
But how do other riders manage or rationalize their choices regarding riding behavior in the face of wildlife obstacles? Maybe there’s something I can learn.
Steve, like you bambi is always in my mind riding in my area … I’ll be watching to see what other riders suggest but for me I try to avoid dusk and dawn, I always expect a second deer if I’ve seen one and at least around home where I’ve chanced to see many deer crossing the road I slow down (considerably) in the spots where I know there is a higher probability of deer crossing.
I forgot about the second deer phenomena. Good to remember. I’ll start keeping a list.
Now you’ve got me thinking about deer again Steve….our deer here are bigger (I am told) than the deer out in your neck of the woods and for sure the moose are…..
I’ve had my close encounters with deer and they really are unpredictable…..I think I’d rather be on three wheels in a collision with one…..
Mule deer are definitely bigger and would not be fun to encounter. We don’t have moose but we do have elk which can be as big as some mid-sized moose. Don’t hear as much about collisions with them because the herd size is relatively small. Hunters shot over 350,000 deer here last year compared to just over 500 elk killed in Pennsylvania since 2001. Last year only 86 licenses were issued. Seeing an elk is rare lest you travel into their range.
Another sales pitch for a URAL too — nice! When you go full time for them??
This article is pretty good….YMMV:
http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-a-Moose-or-Deer-Collision
Excellent piece and definitely applicable to motorcycle and scooter riding. Thanks!
One time many decades ago I was riding my beloved R90/6 BMW airhead heading south on Route 36 between Brookville and Punxsutawney, entering the valley containing the village of Coolspring, PA. It had just gotten dark, and as usual I was cruising spiritedly along at about 90 mph in that bike’s sweet spot, with no traffic anywhere in sight. The road down into the valley was a long sweeping right-hander, three of four excellently paved lanes wide. I was set up for the turn, had picked my line, and was leaning over hard, charging thru this sweeper. What pure delight! Unfortunately about halfway thru the turn (I couldn’t see all the way around in the darkness), my headlight suddenly illuminated a herd of about 30 deer — just standing still on the highway, spread out across all the lanes, not moving. It was too late to do anything, I saw a small gap between a few of the deer which was on my line, so I just kept on the gas and shot through the pack. I think I brushed up against one or two of them. Thank goodness that I was going fast enough that I was through them before they became startled and ran. I made it safely home that night, a beautiful night drive with no traffic on a road I knew well, and on a bike I greatly enjoyed. Then I counted my blessings!
Fred, that certainly used up a bit of the luck we are each given in life. I wouldn’t count on it working every time though! I’ve had similar experiences in a car (but not at 90mph) where suddenly there’s a small herd of deer in the roadway. Get’s the heart racing!
I am the Australian rider Steve mentioned who hit the wallaby. That led to hospital time and two operations and a very phobic rider.
Three different people asked if I couldn’t have avoided it. I guess the assumption is that it is always the riders fault for not being good enough. e.g. being able to slide a Harley for a 100 yards as opposed to other possible and more catastrophic outcomes.
Other clowns (while I was still in plaster and on crutches) wanted to know how the wallaby was. I started telling them it was delicious.
Last comment, an old school friend in Ohio told me about her husband hitting a goose. Lots of things to hit out there…
Fred, thanks for commenting on your encounter with the wallaby. I’m not sure if people’s questions concerning whether an accident could have been avoided is fueled by their own fears and hopes that there is something they can do to minimize risk or if it’s just insensitivity.
A crash of any sort is trauma enough to have anyone question themselves. Having someone add to that by asking if you could have avoided it is just mean.
As far as the Harley goes, what made me curious was the distance. 100 yards is a long way. You would need to go pretty fast to slide that far.
A goose hit would be bad on a Vespa…
As a rural back road rider myself I have to say that learning the habits of white tail deer has definitely been high on my list of safety awareness.
Those city dwellers who venture out into the countryside need to know a few things and one right off is that they tend to travel in herds of 2-4.
Also, if you see a fawn, there is likely a mother right behind it.
They also tend to follow stream beds or cross over roads to get to them, so if you are riding along a creek or stream be especially watchful.
November is “rutting season” when the bucks are racing through the countryside looking for a mate, so they will wildly run hither and yon and many will wind up dead along highways or appear anywhere at any time out in front of you, cruising happily out in “the sticks” as you put it!
Beautiful? Yes. I ride often down into the valley in the evening just to watch them gather in the fields beside the river. They are a delight to behold!
Great ideas for thinking about deer as a rider. Remembering where there’s one there’s more is important. Anymore I’m not sure how easy it is to divide city from country folks, at least around here. But anyone seeing those deer crossing signs should take heed if they’re on two wheels!
My Dad is a firm believer in the deer whistles you can put on your bike. There has to be two and mounted on the front but they are hardly noticeable. He has been riding for a lot of years and has never hit one so that’s a plus.
I was riding one day and a fawn trotted out in front of me, heard me coming and became a cartoon character in the road – couldn’t get traction and was running in place! Seeing deer make me slow down (at least for awhile) and I also follow the rule that if you see one, there are always more.
Ride safe!
I used to have deer whistles on my old pick up truck. People made fun of me about them but I never hit a deer.
Great advice on the see one, there will be more.
To quote (or possibly paraphrase) motoring icon Jeremy Clarkson; “speed never killed anyone. Suddenly stopping, that’s a different story.” That applies with vehicle collisions of any sort. Yes, going fast is fun and exhilarating, but it falls on the vehicle operator to consider whether excessive speed is worth the risk of a sudden stop.
Reminds me of something my dad used to say about falling off a roof. “It’s not the fall that’s the problem, it’s the sudden stop that gets you.”
I agree with you Paul about the rider choice — we each must decide what kind of risk we are willing to take. Within the boundaries of the law of course!
We just lost a rider around here in a nighttime deer-motorcycle collision. Wisconsin has a pretty good-sized deer herd, so not surprising. It’s frustrating for me, because I just love riding at dusk and beyond…..it seems quiet, and I’m swallowed in a cocoon of darkness. On the other hand, it’s deer time, and they’re maddeningly hard to see in the dark. It’s a risk I have a hard time taking. As a result, most of my night time riding is in the city, and as I head through the mile or so of countryside to get home, I’m on full alert.
Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are similar in their deer-vehicle issues. There’s not much you can do other than try and minimize the risk but I know how hard that is if you want to ride at dusk and on into the night. Slow helps but those beasts can appear out of nowhere… Full alert is the watch word for night riding in deer country.