I hit a deer for the 1st time and I feel so bad :(

[usnuzuloose]

Don't feel bad OP, we had one literally jump right out in front of us, and we were doing less than the speed limit. Not much you can do if it runs away. I am glad you are okay.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

I hit a deer for the first time ever this morning. I didn't see it coming and had no chance to brake at all. I didn't run it over and it didn't go over my vehicle or anything...I just kind of launched it towards the woods where it continued to run. I really hope it is okay. I feel so guilty even though I know there was no way that I could have avoided it. I will always stop my vehicle for anything (frogs, chipmunks, etc) so this is really hard for me.

I keep telling myself that it was just an accident and these things happen, and that it could have been so much worse. But I still feel bad and I hope the deer is just a little sore but fine. I am also scared about driving now lol

I think I just needed to get this off my chest. This is a first for me and I am super bummed out about it

/jawdrop

YOU TRIED TO KILL BAMBI!!!!!!!!!

/sobs dramatically

 

[anneboleyn]

/jawdrop

YOU TRIED TO KILL BAMBI!!!!!!!!!

/sobs dramatically

Unfortunately this was pretty much my reaction lol

 

[anneboleyn]

Don't feel bad OP, we had one literally jump right out in front of us, and we were doing less than the speed limit. Not much you can do if it runs away. I am glad you are okay.

Thank you Yeah, there was literally nothing that I could have done to avoid it. I just wish it didn't happen. Poor dumb deer

 

[anneboleyn]

I totally understand. I'm so sorry. Thank goodness you're safe and the deer didn't die on impact (hopefully it's okay!!).

Thank you so much I know things could have been much worse so I am thankful that I am okay. Hopefully the deer is too!

 

[CPanther95]

Thank you so much I know things could have been much worse so I am thankful that I am okay. Hopefully the deer is too!

If he ran off, chances are you hit him while in the air and he doesn't have much more than some bruising and a story to tell its kids.

 

[cjbcam]

I hit a deer 7 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter. Thank god I was driving my DH truck. My DH has hit two. My good friend just hit a moose a couple weeks ago, her one kid was cut up because it swung around the vehicle and took out the whole side of her vans Windows. They were very lucky.
I was close to hitting a mamma and two cub black bears. I slowed right down because I could see them on the side of the road. As I was almost passing the mom darted out in front of me.

 

[PollyannaMom]

 

[elgerber]

I hit a deer for the first time in November of last year. It literally ran right into the front side of my car. If it had been just a fraction of a second later it would have gone through the passenger window and hurt my DH. I wasn't even going very fast, only about 40 MPH. I felt very bad because it went flying about 20 feet and broke it's leg before hobbling off into the bush. It was as good as dead, but worse because I know it must have suffered. Poor thing. My insurance took are of everything with out any fault on my part. I did have to pay my deductible.

This exact same thing happened to me, but my passenger side was empty, so no one would have been hurt. Mine went over and across the windshield, then ran off.
Talking about teaching your kids how to deal with this situation, my dd was doing a behind the wheel lesson, and her instructor was telling her never to swerve etc, and at that very moment a big Canadian Goose flew right into the street in front of the car, so she had to hit it. Amazingly it didn't damage the teachers car, but it sure proved his point!

 

[mjdis17]

I was driving on a very busy highway in December and up above 3 deers had just tried to cross, all being hit and laying in the middle of the road. This was just after a huge curve so it was impossible to see up ahead. People started breaking but I had no idea what happened and all of a sudden by boyfriend pointed out a deer that was very clearly suffering/dying in the shoulder. I was distracted by that and when I returned my eyes to my lane, the person in front of me immediately swerved into the other lane to miss the dear laying in our path. I had no time to react as they just barely moved in time and there were car on both sides of me, so I had to drive over it. Mind you I was SCREAMING the entire time and saw the entire aftermath in my rear view mirror. Long story short it ripped off the plastic undercarriage/splash guard on my car in all but one spot and caused $1,000 in damages overall that had to be paid OOP. Flash forward to today, a deer ran out in front of me but I was driving unusually slow because I had a feeling something was going to happen. Thankfully I was able to stop completely without coming close to it. I was traumatized from the first experience and really can't look at deers anymore without my heart completely sinking because I feel so horrible.

 

[bcla]

I wouldn't really feel sorry for any deer - not that I would want any to suffer. They're wild animals, and wild animals suffer all sorts of crazy fates that may seem unfair to people. Bambi really ruined it for many, making it seem like deer are cute. The truth is that deer are the most dangerous animal in North America - resulting in more deaths than any other type of animal. They also carry Lyme disease. While goring is a possibility, vehicle collisions with deer are actually pretty common. I read that in one state about 1 in 30 drivers annually will collide with a deer.

 

[anneboleyn]

I wouldn't really feel sorry for any deer - not that I would want any to suffer. They're wild animals, and wild animals suffer all sorts of crazy fates that may seem unfair to people. Bambi really ruined it for many, making it seem like deer are cute. The truth is that deer are the most dangerous animal in North America - resulting in more deaths than any other type of animal. They also carry Lyme disease. While goring is a possibility, vehicle collisions with deer are actually pretty common. I read that in one state about 1 in 30 drivers annually will collide with a deer.

Eh I don't think there is anything wrong with having empathy for animals. People are responsible for far worse things. If I can stop an animal from hurting or being in a bad situation, I am not going to think twice about doing so. They are living, breathing creatures and I wish people were better to them.

 

[robinb]

Eh I don't think there is anything wrong with having empathy for animals. People are responsible for far worse things. If I can stop an animal from hurting or being in a bad situation, I am not going to think twice about doing so. They are living, breathing creatures and I wish people were better to them.

I also don't see anything wrong with feeling empathy for a creature's suffering. I couldn't do anything about hitting the deer but I can feel bad that it suffered.

 

[bcla]

Eh I don't think there is anything wrong with having empathy for animals. People are responsible for far worse things. If I can stop an animal from hurting or being in a bad situation, I am not going to think twice about doing so. They are living, breathing creatures and I wish people were better to them.

I certainly don't wish for an animal to suffer, but the reality of life as a wild animal includes the possibility of injury, predation, starvation, and other assorted things that don't seem right in the human world. You know - the whole circle of life thing.

I mean - there have been well-meaning people doing incredibly stupid things in the name of preventing an animal being hurt. The craziest to me is when people have intervened when a predator was taking down its prey. Both are wild animals, and this is how the predator gets its food. Seems cruel to people, but it's the reality of being a wild animal.

These things happen to wild animals living near people. You don't have to feel good about hitting an animal with your car, but I don't necessarily think you have to feel bad about it either.

 

[anneboleyn]

I certainly don't wish for an animal to suffer, but the reality of life as a wild animal includes the possibility of injury, predation, starvation, and other assorted things that don't seem right in the human world. You know - the whole circle of life thing.

I mean - there have been well-meaning people doing incredibly stupid things in the name of preventing an animal being hurt. The craziest to me is when people have intervened when a predator was taking down its prey. Both are wild animals, and this is how the predator gets its food. Seems cruel to people, but it's the reality of being a wild animal.

These things happen to wild animals living near people. You don't have to feel good about hitting an animal with your car, but I don't necessarily think you have to feel bad about it either.

You are totally right that it is an inevitable part of life. I still can't help but feel bad about it. I do understand your point of view tho!

 

[bcla]

You are totally right that it is an inevitable part of life. I still can't help but feel bad about it. I do understand your point of view tho!

I don't think one really needs to feel good or bad about it. And in any case, suffering and morality is really a human construct. The possibility of being injured or killed by a vehicle is just one of many possibilities of injury or death for a wild animal.

 

[RedAngie]

I had an experience like the OP. All of a sudden one night, there was a deer right in front of me. I think I only grazed it, because I definitely remember seeing it run off into the woods. My headlight got broken, and there was some fur on the jagged edge. Hopefully Bambi was OK.

About 8 years ago, driving on Route 301 in rural Eastern Shore of Maryland, there was the back half of what I think must have been a deer. About a quarter mile up the road, there was the front half. I suppose the poor deer must have gotten hit by a speeding tractor-trailer to cause such damage.

 

[CPanther95]

There are tons of deer here too (central PA) and I am honestly amazed that this is my first accident. I am so thankful that I didn't lose control of my vehicle or that my airbags didn't have to go off.

I-80 across PA is like a war zone during hunting season. They can issue 2 or 3 million hunting licenses and the deer population still bursts at the seams.

 

[smokeyblue]

About 25 years ago my dad took home a new Toyota Camry overnight to try out. He wasn't even 10 yards from our driveway when a deer smashed into the car and totaled it. They were pretty nice about it. He ended up buying a Honda Accord from the same place instead.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

Never a deer, but I hit a half dozen smaller woodland creatures over the years. A few squirrels, an opossum, and something I'm not sure what it was. Weasel? Groundhog? Mink?

One time a seagull dived right in front of my car, probably attempting to get something on the road. Looking back in my rear view mirror, I could see feathers flying everywhere.