Wow, that article really gave a precise play-by-play of the accident as it unfolded. You don't see that often.
Yes folks, the deer are going to be on the run for the next few months so please watch closely and do not make any radical moves to try to avoid hitting one.
I once had a deer run out and stop while standing partly in my lane. There were no other vehicles around so I was able to slowly move over to my left and go around him, missing him by about a foot. I never touched the brakes. There was no point in doing that, he was only about three seconds in front of me when he ran out there.
So luckily I drove right past him and I saw him turn and run in my passenger mirror. That was undoubtedly the most exciting and astounding moment of that deer's life and there's no way his friends are going to believe him, unless they were standing there watching because they put him up to it. You never know.
Don't you guys have those deer whistles on the front of your trucks? I have them on every vehicle not that it's a perfect solution but I'm sure it helps well a Mouse guard helps more.
It's moose I worry about more.
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
Those deer whistles are a waste of money IMHO. I ran over another deer with my trailer (a first for me) 4 days ago in Texas. Small herd crossing the two-lane I was on. This one tried to hit her brakes, but slipped on the asphalt, under the tandems she went. That's #4 for me with a big rig, and #28 overall that I've had an impact with. As mentioned, try not to swerve or make any sudden moves with the steering wheel.
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
As our safety department says.. "Don't veer for the deer.". Slow down as much as possible and keep a firm grip on the wheel. Yes, we must go ahead and hit Bambi. Ease over as soon as possible to assess damages/determine if your truck is still driveable.
The reason for not swerving is simple. You're more likely to roll your truck when performing a hard brake and swerving/changing lanes at the same time.
Yes, we all love animals, but it is what it is.
I hit a baby last year. I saw mom and the fawn starting to jump onto the road to my right. I brakes lightly and thought I was going to miss them. That was until lil bambi slipped and fell, the thump thump as it was passing under the truck had my wife yelling from the bunk "What is that" followed by "That was so gross sounding." Although she did show the dash cam video to everyone she knows.
New! Check out our help videos for a better understanding of our forum features
Reminder. Don't Swerve!
Semi swerves to avoid deer, causes 5-car crash