Avoiding the unexpected deer

[davidgrey50]

Drive slower? How slow? The speed limit? Under? There are practical, societal, and legal limitations as to how slowly one can drive. I hit a bear at 60 km/h. Would 55 have been better? How about 50? 45? 40? 35? There is, unfortunately, such a thing as an unavoidable accident.

My point in Focus v. Dakota was that being in the Dakota probably resulted in less overall damage. Of course, the best thing to be driving in an accident depends on what kind of accident you're going to have.

[Varn]

Clev if you live in california you might have 2o days of winter. Last winter started in with the snow in November and ended in late march. I wish I had 4wd but don't, I would not prefer to lug around the 500 pounds of shafts and gears for the few months that I need them. If I had 4wd I would have used it but didn't, hence chains.

I bought my econoline to transport my streamliners to races, I became disenamored with driving thousands of miles with an econoline to race a few miles in a bicycle and quit bike racing because of the expense. Now I have two farms and use the truck to haul equipment and supplies between them. Grow my food. My farm crops help to power your car in an manner that does not involve importing foreign oil. I burn Biodiesel in my tractors and gasohol in my trucks. I am getting tired of paying $2.50-2.75 for gas and $2.99 for biodiesel.

Smart thinking about not wanting to swerve to avoid a potential collision. Statistics have proven that the only way to avoid a collision is to brake. Of course that is not accurate in every case. Statistic show that rain is a big component in deer accidents but every hunting statistic shows that deer don't move in the rain ...What that that prove, neither proves anything. I have a lot of training in maneuvering to avoid.

From the day in 1968 when I got my drivers license I wanted to race a car. It never came to pass, was always beyond my budget. Later I was lucky to spend 4 years roadracing motorcycles then another number of years racing bicycles. Riding motorcycles and bicycles is something that I continue to enjoy. I have avoiding tons of crashes on the track and road. Still if you look at statistics accidents (collisions) happen of drivers of all calibers.

When I studied physics we were taught that Newton stated that something like A=F/m That means that if you have more mass, you will be subject to less acceleration. Something desirable in an accident. I suppose that it would be better from your perspective if you and I had a collision I would not be in a 5000 pound vehicle but walking. Life is not fair that way.

I would be open sir if you want to get me a new economy car. Please test it and see if you can haul 5000 pounds minimum.

Thanks again for explaining the difference between California and Missouri.

Originally Posted by Clev

And, once again, I'm telling you that there were FIVE of those in the ENTIRE STATE OF MISSOURI last year. It isn't the deer that leaps into the vehicle that is the problem, it's the perception that somebody needs a tank to protect themselves from something that happened FIVE times in 161,000 accidents. I absolutely guarantee that MANY more people died in rollovers in full-size vans trying to avoid collisions.



And the other 325 days of the year? I live in a mountainous area of California and pretty much guarantee that I get more snow and mudslides than you, yet I manage to drive my 4WD less than 20 days a year.



Why are you driving an Econoline then? What if you hit one of your 50% of neighbors that also drives an SUV or truck? If I were you I'd immediately upgrade to a Topkick. Hopefully there are no fully-loaded big rigs bearing down on you; no doubt they're killing hundreds a day on your route.



There, I fixed that for you. You don't NEED to drive a 5,000 pound van around. You've brought up the entire repertoire of excuses of every person who has taken up two spots at the grocery store with a Hummer.

The topic for this site is improving mileage. The top way to improve mileage is to only drive a 5,000 pound flat-faced block when you actually need it, and the second is to drive slower, which incidentally would help your deer avoidance (the topic of this thread) as well.

BTW, is this Econoline 4WD? You'd have better maneuverability and wouldn't have to chain up nearly as often with an S10 4WD. And you'd get 25-30 mpg.

[tasdrouille]

Some people will always find excuses not to drive fuel efficient vehicles. It's always been that way and it's always gonna be. There always is THAT single most important reason. It's often not linked to any significant measurable statistical evidence at all, but it's there, and it haunts you.

Ecomodders are open minded people weighting their options based on measurable facts. If you don't fall into that category you'll find little support here.

[Varn]

Brown bear, Ouch! Glad that your injuries were not worse. I shudder to think about what would happen if that bear had slid up your the hood into your windshield. This is the kind of accident that never happens according to some of the posters on this forum. The trouble with statistics is that they don't mean squat, until it happens to you.

I would doubt if severely injured bears can be let into the wild they probably would need be contained or put down. It was in the wrong place at the wrong time. If it had been less injured and slid into your passenger compartment, you wouldn't be here, IMO.

Originally Posted by davidgrey50

Unfortunately, I recently hit a brown bear at 60 km/h ~35 mph. I've been driving a 2006 Focus for the last four years, but just bought an '04 Dakota, which I was driving at the time. Aside from feeling terrible about the bear (head injuries, broken leg - subsequently killed by conservation officers), I was glad to be in the truck rather than the car. The truck sustained a broken sidemarker (corner) light, and dents to the lower door and lower panel of the extended cab. The more collapsible Focus probably would have destroyed front bumper, headlight, fender, hood, and possibly radiator and AC radiator. Unless he got swept up and over and into the windshield. I doubt the Focus would have been drivable, and the bear would most likely have to have been killed anyway.

[dcb]

My buddy killed a deer with his motorcycle and walked home (to get the truck to pick up the deer and bike). You cant say "probably" about anything, especially if you are saying it out of fear and trying to justify driving a tank.

[Frank Lee]

OK how's this: weld some big chunks of pipe to the A-pillars of an econo car; maybe even one down the middle too. Safety and economy, what more could you want?

[NachtRitter]

This otter do it:

[NachtRitter]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

OK how's this: weld some big chunks of pipe to the A-pillars of an econo car; maybe even one down the middle too. Safety and economy, what more could you want?

Something like this?

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by NachtRitter

This otter do it:

It reminds me of the bumper sticker on the spaceship in the Mel Brooks' movie Spaceballs, that says: "We brake for NOBODY!" :

[tumnasgt]

Originally Posted by Varn

When I studied physics we were taught that Newton stated that something like A=F/m That means that if you have more mass, you will be subject to less acceleration. Something desirable in an accident. I suppose that it would be better from your perspective if you and I had a collision I would not be in a 5000 pound vehicle but walking. Life is not fair that way.

If you hit something that will stop you (e.g. a large tree), you experience a much greater force if you are in a 5000lb van vs a 2500lb hatch. When you hit something like a deer, the force that they provide on impact is constant, so you will slow less, but the car will experience the same force in the impact.
In a van you only have a foot or two in front of your legs, whereas in a normal car there is about 4' of bonnet. Not to mention the fact that most vans are not required to undergo safety testing (afaik, I'm relying on a quick google search), so it is very likely that a small sedan is actually safer than a large van.

If carrying around lots of stuff is required in your everyday trips, a van is very sensible, but it doesn't make you safer.

By far the best way to not get injured in a crash is not be in a crash at all, which is why systems like ESP are being made mandatory (again, I'm pretty sure this is a car-only requirement, vans don't have to have it).