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Old 08-25-2007, 04:07 PM   #1
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From another RV group:

I had to pass this on.

I am doing contract work for an aircraft company that is located near the
edge of Wichita. Part of my commute is nearly rural, and I was seeing deer
in a certain area nearly every morning.

I was driving home for lunch and saw a white mini-van pull to the gravel
shoulder a half mile or so ahead of me. It was an abrupt stop that made we
wonder if it was deer related.

I slowed down and sure enough there was a good sized doe in the ditch; and
the young lady in the van appeared very upset. I stopped in front of her,
and as I walked back to her vehicle I noticed that the grille and hood were
very badly damaged, all lights were broken, and the lower windshield was
cracked. She had tears rolling down here cheeks, and as she was fumbling
with her cell phone when she looked up and saw me. She rolled here window
down and it was then that I noticed two small childred in the back seat in
car seats, but they seemed un-fazed but the accident.

I asked her if she was OK and could I help here call the police or her
insurance agent? Tears flowing, she burst out "OH that poor deer. I just
didn't see it and I really didn't mean to hurt it. I feel so bad for
hitting it! I just know the poor thing is dead and I think its a girl!"
She was sobbing uncontrollably.

I checked the deer and it was dead. I called the Sheriff's department and
walked back to the car wondering what to say next because she was still
nearly hysterical and the kids were starting to get upset. I said "Miss, the
deer didn't make it but right now you need to worry about the kids and your
car."

She looked at me and said "Car...What about the car?" I told her that there
was quite a bit of damage and she might have to arrange a ride.

Here demeanor changed in an instant. She opened her door, walked up front
and gasped at the condition of her van. Then she shot an EVIL look back at
the deer's lifeless body.

"THAT SON OF A BITCH! Why the hell didn't it watch where it was going?"
GODDAMN STUPID ANIMAL!!!!!

RonB

PS - I stayed until the Sheriffs patrol officer arrived. During a discrete
moment I told the young officer about the woman's comments and she nearly
burst out laughing. But she did a very professional job after she pulled
herself together.
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Old 08-26-2007, 11:45 AM   #2
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I am originally from a rural area in Upstate New York, and have seen the aftermath of several encounters with deer. I get uncomfortable driving in an area when I see deer moving, because they can be SO unpredictable.

As I was leaving the trailer gathering at Lake San Antonio earlier this year, we were overtaken by 4 dear running on the left of the rig. As I came to a stop in the middle of the road, they cut in front of the van and sped off!

Wouldn't you know it; California Deer. The only thing missing were the cell phones.
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Old 08-26-2007, 05:57 PM   #3
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When I lived in PA there were 60,000 +/- deer killed a year on state highways, some of which involved human fatalities.

Out here we are always on the watch for deer, antelope, and even buffalo on the primitive roads. If you hit a deer or antelope you toss it in the back of the truck and take it home for dinner. Buffs require a crane.

I like the story: it perfectly captures the atittudes of the clueless suburbatons.
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Old 08-26-2007, 09:42 PM   #4
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Here in the foothills of Colorado, elk are almost a permanent fixture on the roads. Deer are in a pretty close second. The difference in the two is the deer freak out and who knows where the end up. The elk just stare you down and play chicken with you, and you better be the one to give in because they won't.

Paula
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Old 08-27-2007, 06:36 AM   #5
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Most wild animals go into a random pattern of escape when their life is threatened. The unpredictable pattern of behavior is exactly what is required to escape predators. The reasonable thing for a motorist to do is to slow down when there are wild animals, livestock, pets, children, etc in the road.
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Old 08-27-2007, 02:55 PM   #6
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Here in the midwest we have some deer and more as you go farther north.
I put deer whistles on the van ,not sure if they work for deer or not. I did see some deer that just looked up when I went past.
Maybe some here could tell us if deer whistles really work or not.


I am pretty sure they do keep elephants away because I have never seen one on the road yet.
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Old 08-27-2007, 04:31 PM   #7
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I have been told that Deer Whistles work, however it is imperative that they NOT be installed BACKWARDS or they will ATTRACT wildlife

In the Northeast and places like Newfoundland, they have moose, not deer, and they are much worse. They are hard to see in the dark, totally ignore vehicles and when you hit one, you knock the legs out from under it and the body comes crashing down on your roof and windshield, often killing you (well, once, anyway...)

Here's ANOTHER wildlife worry in Texas.
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Old 08-27-2007, 05:32 PM   #8
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From every reasonable source I have read (sample: Washington State University article), and my own common sense, I have concluded that deer whistles are pointless sources of noise. I would not waste one cent on them, and although I was given a pair I have no intention of ever sticking them to a vehicle.

Wildlife collisions are a serious problem (resulting in some amusing stories ), and the couple of moose which have crossed the road in front of me when I have been at highway speed have certainly caught my attention, as I am well aware of the hazard. Deer are far more common here, but I consider the risk of collisions with them to be a concern primarily due to the risk to the deer, and the chance of vehicle damage, rather than personal safety.
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Old 08-27-2007, 05:54 PM   #9
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Many human fatalities and injuries occur as a result of the driver trying to swerve in order to miss the deer. It's an instinctive reaction, and hard to control. But in most cases it would be better to just hit the deer than to take radical evasive measures— especially with a trailer in tow.
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Old 08-28-2007, 12:50 AM   #10
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Moose are quite a hazard to drivers here in the winter and darkness. (Or its it that we are a hazard to them?) They are drawn more and more to the road corridors as the snow gets deeper, and their hair is not reflective. With those tall legs, sometimes they come through the windshield, and you end up with a moose INSIDE your vehicle.

But what about the small critters?? Years back, a friend was visiting New England, and reported that a relative slid on a whole passel of FROGS on the road!
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Old 08-28-2007, 05:26 AM   #11
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A few years back I was towing my trailer (w/ V8 Explorer) through upstate Wisconsin on my way to the Apostle Islands. (Another ferry ride for the Castle.) I spotted a deer along the left edge of the road and slowed down as did an oncoming car. Then suddenly the deer darted in front of the nearly stopped oncoming car, it lost its footing on the pavement then gathered itself up and shot in front of me. I did a full out panic stop from maybe 20-30 mph but still thumped it broadside. I must have been almost stopped when I hit it. It (she) then jumped up and ran off to my right.

I was sitting there with my heart thumping when of course the car behind me leaned on its horn impatient for me to get going.

No damage to the front end and hopefully no damage to the deer, but it reinforced my sense that the choice of tow vehicle should not depend on the 99% conditions, but rather on your comfort level for the emergencies. For me, I don't care if you (that's a generic "you" not anybody specific) tow your 17 footer with a lawn mower or VW beetle and you've never had a problem. Of course you don't have a problem with that combination in perfect conditions. Personally, I was glad of the mass of the Explorer and the correspondingly appropriate brakes.

Obviously, other people's mileage varies.
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Old 08-28-2007, 08:01 AM   #12
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Question

Don't know if the Deer Whistles work or not, when installed correctly. . But if what Pete says above is true, having a bunch of Deer following because the whistles were installed backward.....Well....! Makes sense!

Not far from us a young lady hit a deer with a fairly low car. Seems it might have been an Accord.

The deer ended up on her hood next to the windshield. One of it's hooves came in the driver side window and put the lady in a Comma.

A frind of mine was in front of her and saw the deer start across the road just as he passed it. He saw the whole thing in his mirror. He said they were running about 40 MPH and the lady was braking (with skid marks) when the collision took place.

I agree with Steve L.. The tug need to be of ample size and weight to be able to "Handle" the trailer/load. With enough power, braking and heft to make those sometimes tricky manuvers.

Kip
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Old 08-28-2007, 09:38 AM   #13
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At least the lady was lucky. She could have been put in a semi-colon.
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Old 08-28-2007, 10:09 AM   #14
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OK...

commas,

semi-colons,

suburbatons...

How many of you who have posted to this thread can directly trace your genealogy to Mrs. Malaprop?

Roger
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Old 08-28-2007, 11:25 AM   #15
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Talking

Quote:
OK...

commas,

semi-colons,

suburbatons...

How many of you who have posted to this thread can directly trace your genealogy to Mrs. Malaprop?

Roger
Sew, dat's wut I bin dune..... Larry
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Old 08-28-2007, 03:48 PM   #16
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Yup, I almost collected a moose with my truck/camper combo last year on the Kancamagus highway in the White Mountains of NH. More luck than anything that I didn't hit it.

Nearly had to clean my shorts after that encounter...
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Old 08-28-2007, 10:18 PM   #17
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Wrote a compact car off once when I collided with an elk. Mangled the hood up pretty good and smashed the windshield right in front of the driver's seat with it's head. I was very lucky that the elk didn't have a large set of antlers on it or I would have been shish kebob!

When it hit the front end I must have instinctively hit the brakes, with it then coming at the windshield. Some people say that you should hit the gas in that situation instead so that the animal goes up nstead of towards the windshield, but I don't know if there's any truth in that Even if there was, I'd be hard pressed to... "yes Mr. Insurance agent I was accelerating into the animal at a good clip When do I get that replacement vehicle?"

BTW - the woman in that story NUTS!
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Old 08-29-2007, 07:26 PM   #18
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Actually, I did meet a couple of motorcyclists on the Blue Ridge Parkway who had had a couple of near misses with deer and tried whistles. They had no conclusive experiences to report regarding deer, and almost hit a crippled bear, but they did report that the roadside birds were definitely taking off sooner with the whistles than they did before -- Who knows?

Moose in the dark are definitely not reflective -- Unlike deer, their hides seem to have many more planes that seem to act as headlight camouflage, plus their bodies and eyes are well above the headlights and out of the reflective angles (try walking around the woods at night with a flashlight but hold it up in front of your eyes; you will see a lot more critters looking back at you that way).
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Old 08-30-2007, 11:30 PM   #19
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Some people here in northwest BC have installed Moose Bumpers, meant to deflect moose away from the windshield. Moose vs. car = Moose wins! I know one guy who is partially blind after striking a moose. A lot of moose are spotted on the side/hit on the road where a new highway cuts a lush marsh in half.

I have seen deer stand stock-still, blinded by headlights (it has something to do with their eyes' cones or rods) but moose act erratically for sure. One time a juvenile moose charged towards us, then galloped along side of us (this was daylight, fortunately!) then turned to charge, then raced ahead of us, then finally turned off into the bush. Good thing hubby was driving, because all I could do was shout, "It's a moose! Duck!"
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Old 08-30-2007, 11:34 PM   #20
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Quote:
Some people here in northwest BC have installed Moose Bumpers, meant to deflect moose away from the windshield. Moose vs. car = Moose wins! I know one guy who is partially blind after striking a moose. A lot of moose are spotted on the side/hit on the road where a new highway cuts a lush marsh in half.

I have seen deer stand stock-still, blinded by headlights (it has something to do with their eyes' cones or rods) but moose act erratically for sure. One time a juvenile moose charged towards us, then galloped along side of us (this was daylight, fortunately!) then turned to charge, then raced ahead of us, then finally turned off into the bush. Good thing hubby was driving, because all I could do was shout, "It's a moose! Duck!"

WOW, did you get a picture of the Moose Duck?
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