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

[anneboleyn]

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

 

[mom2rtk]

Lots of deer around here so I'm surprised I've never hit one.

I was actually just discussing deer with my daughter yesterday. She has a permit and will get her license in the fall. My friend in the insurance industry told me to advise my kids to take the deer hit over going into a ditch. I had to explain to her that deer are very skittish and while you should try to avoid them, sometimes you can't and you should never take a chance on your own life to avoid one.

 

[anneboleyn]

Lots of deer around here so I'm surprised I've never hit one.

I was actually just discussing deer with my daughter yesterday. She has a permit and will get her license in the fall. My friend in the insurance industry told me to advise my kids to take the deer hit over going into a ditch. I had to explain to her that deer are very skittish and while you should try to avoid them, sometimes you can't and you should never take a chance on your own life to avoid one.

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.

 

[bjscheel]

It happens and it's not your fault. I agree with PP, do not swerve for the deer! It will be worse if you lose control. My SIL swerved for a cat once and went the ditch and had to get pins in her leg.

I've only hit one once, surprisingly. Or rather, it hit me. I saw him in the ditch and slowed down and he broke my drivers side window on a 13º morning. He then jumped over the hood and ran off. I had tax school so my mom brought me on in to town and my dad got to drive it home in the cold. DH was away at a farm equipment show.

DD17 has already hit one. She could only slow down a little as someone was right behind her. It broke out her headlight and she just kept going. We were actually about a half mile behind her within view of her taillights and never knew anything happened till we got home. Her new headlights are much brighter and better anyway!

 

[L&Lfan]

In my 41 years of driving I've hit a cat, chipmunk, 3 squirrels and an opossum. No deer yet.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Don't fret it. How much damage to your car?

 

[sunshinemelody]

I drove over a baby squirrel a few weeks ago on my way to work (literally pulled out of the driveway and, I kid you not, two seconds later it ran out into the road). I was distraught that I had to pull over and breathe. I was so mad at the squirrel, too! WHY BABY SQUIRREL WHY

And I heard the little "eep!" when my tires ... rolled over it.

 

[bcla]

Never hit a deer before, but had several close calls. One was where the vehicle behind and to the right of me did hit it at freeway speeds. It was a high vehicle and later I saw the bumper was damaged. However, it probably would have smashed into the windshield of a lower vehicle. The sound of it hitting the deer was very loud.

Not sure how many small animals I've accidentally crushed. I had a squirrel run under my car in a campground while I was moving. I looked back and its neck was squished but it wasn't flattened. I just clipped it, but I suppose dead is dead. Just try driving though a desert road in southern Utah. I saw a completely obliterated deer and I stopped counting the number of rabbit roadkill.

 

[anneboleyn]

Don't fret it. How much damage to your car?

Its actually not too bad. I broke a headlight and the hood got bent. And the radiator is pushed back a bit. But it still drives fine. It just doesn't look very nice. I love my Jeep and I hope that there isn't some crazy damage that I can't see or something.

ETA: It drove fine when I was driving home. I obviously won't be driving it until after it is fixed. Hopefully it won't take too long.

 

[anneboleyn]

I drove over a baby squirrel a few weeks ago on my way to work (literally pulled out of the driveway and, I kid you not, two seconds later it ran out into the road). I was distraught that I had to pull over and breathe. I was so mad at the squirrel, too! WHY BABY SQUIRREL WHY

And I heard the little "eep!" when my tires ... rolled over it.

I was mad too! Why couldn't it just have waited two seconds before running out I was yelling "I'M SORRY, DEER!" Ugh.

 

[anneboleyn]

In my 41 years of driving I've hit a cat, chipmunk, 3 squirrels and an opossum. No deer yet.

Oh man, I don't think I could ever leave my house again if I hit a cat lol. That would be horrible.

 

[rastahomie]

I hit a deer for the first time ever a couple of years ago (southeast Missouri). I saw a whole herd of them running across the road- I slammed the breaks but not in enough time to avoid the last one. I undoubtedly broke at least one of her legs and probably one or more of her ribs. I was sick to my stomach about it, too.

Word on the street around here is that if you hit a deer and mortally wound it (or kill it), you can call the law, they'll send a uniform out to cross all the i's and dot all the t's, and then the animal is yours to take home and eat.

 

[robinb]

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.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I had a close call once on my way to Disney. We were less than an hour from home on a 2-lane road and there was a group of about 4 motorcyclists just ahead of me. A deer ran out from the woods and ran BETWEEN the motorcyclists (who were pretty close together, riding two by two slightly staggered). To this day, I have no idea how none of them hit that deer. Had one of them hit it, it probably would have made the motorcycle wreck and since I was not far behind, I would have been in danger of hitting a wrecked cycle, or worse, rider. I still shake my head when I think about how close that scene was to me - I probably wouldn't have believed I saw what I saw had my sister not been with me and saw it too. We all kept going after the incident, but I noticed the group of motorcyclists pulled off in the next town at a McDonald's. I'm sure they were pretty shook up.

 

[MrsDuck]

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

 

[asta]

Don't beat yourself up about it, just be thankful you were not hurt. We have had two fatalities close by from deer running in front of cars and the deer going over the hood and into the car. I was driving at about 45mph when a deer ran in front of me. I did not even see it until impact. It was like an explosion of car parts and deer parts. I was just grateful that it did not flip up and into the windshield.

 

[bcla]

I hit a deer for the first time ever a couple of years ago (southeast Missouri). I saw a whole herd of them running across the road- I slammed the breaks but not in enough time to avoid the last one. I undoubtedly broke at least one of her legs and probably one or more of her ribs. I was sick to my stomach about it, too.

Word on the street around here is that if you hit a deer and mortally wound it (or kill it), you can call the law, they'll send a uniform out to cross all the i's and dot all the t's, and then the animal is yours to take home and eat.

Depends on the state. In California, private taking of roadkill isn't allowed. In some states one is allowed to take a deer, but would need to obtain a hunting license (and maybe a tag) after the fact. Others consider roadkill OK to keep without any paperwork. It depends on the type of animal and the state.

I do remember some comic strip where there was a mounted deer head in someone's living room. The thought bubbles show the husband telling his buddies how he shot the deer, while his wife is telling her friends how he accidentally ran into it with his car.

 

[bcla]

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

I'm rather ambivalent about individual wildlife dying or even "suffering". We live in a suburban area with few predators and an abundance of deer. While I'm not happy if an animal suffers, I know the balance is way out of whack since predators like mountain lions stay away for the most part (if the do come down they will often be shot). There's frankly an unnatural balance since there's no hunting, but predators rarely take them down since they're feared by people. If nature was in balance, deer populations would be controlled by mountain lions and bears. It seems rather cruel, but that's the way they developed over thousands of years.

 

[JaxDad]

Now the deer has a cool story to tell all his animal buddies...

 

[dclpluto]

I hit 3 deer. Lots of deer in south jersey as with lots of other places. Hit a deer is 500 dollars each time. That's my deticutible. other than deer no other accidents. At least deer doesn't go on your driving record. No fines and doesn't make your insurance go up.