Avoiding the unexpected deer

[Varn]

I used to purchase smaller cars. I liked their efficiency and handling even when gas was 70 cents per gallon. I have had a couple of Healeys a couple of Renaults, a Toyota. Some smaller GM and Ford cars. I liked them all.

I had a friend and his wife killed in head on collision a number of years ago. I decided that I needed to improve my odds. More weight of the vehicle transfers more energy into the other guy. To that end I bought a Lincoln then another Lincoln and finally got a small van a caddie a larger van.

Right now I have a Ford minivan and a Ford Econoline. They both have a lot of range with big tanks and are big tanks.

I have not had that many vehicle to vehicle accidents in my life but have hit two deer in the last 5 years. The deer/vehicle accident rate is high and seems to be going up in the mississippi river valley that I commute in. We hunt the cloven hoofed devils but there are always more.

If you never have hit a deer it is not like you could imagine. They are many times running or jumping and just come crashing down on the front, side or sometimes back of your car. No time to steer around or brake.

I would like to be able to not spend so much on fuel but I truly don't want the front of my vehicle to be a scoop.

I have some background in streamliner recumbent bicycle racing. I have built, modified raced and sponsored several of them.

I live on a gravel road and have no interest in making anything which would decrease the ground clearance as in the winter we sometimes have ruts which scrapes everything. I hadn't put much effort into trying to improve the mileage and perhaps the highway performance. That may change.

[Clev]

I would think that a van would be a poor choice for surviving a head-on. After all, the engine is already halfway into the passenger compartment and there's less crumple zone up front. (Add to that the fact that trucks and vans don't have to adhere to the frontal crash test ratings of passenger vehicles, and I think you're better off in a large car.)

This is at least your second post about large vehicles and deer. Seems a little obsessive over something that has a very minor death rate. (About 150 of the 42,000 annual traffic deaths, or 0.3%, are deer-related. Hell, even head-on collisions are only about 2%.)

[Piwoslaw]

So you need to haul tons of steel in your everyday commute just to kill a deer every once in a while? Why not drive a small deer-friendly car, saving both the environment and the deer at the same time. And maybe yourself and your passengers, since BIG does not always mean SAFE.

Read this:
I found another advantage to driving an ultra-low Cd car

[Varn]

Please, Once you factor out the 16-24 year olds who die in traffic accidents, the single biggest factor for accidents in my area are deer strikes. We see them (deer, not accidents) on about 40% of our car trips. It is quite serious really. Most don't involve fatality but there was one this year about 5 miles away.

I have been thinking about what I might do to my econoline. I had thought about making a shell over the front of the vehicle from carbon fiber. I would use dacron fabric stretched over the front of the van and then apply a layer of carbon to it. Once cured I would remove it and the dacron and then reinforce it on the outside. The inside would be perfect match between the hood and front bumper.

If I make it I will post a photo of it.

Most of the local driving is done in the mini van our weekly commute is done in the econoline hauling everything but the kitchen sink.
Thanks

[Daox]

I think most modern cars have had so much safety built into them that this isn't really as big of a deal as you think. Crash test ratings have become more and more strict over the years. I know what you are talking about, I grew up in northern WI where the deer out number the humans. And, while I haven't personally hit a deer I've been in vehicles that have. Sometimes it is unavoidable, sometimes it isn't. However, I've always driven small cars, and have no fear of driving in them because of deer. I rely on my driving technique to keep me safe (weather it be deer or idiot drivers), and it has worked very well. I'd suggest slowing down at night, don't over drive your headlights. With a van I'm sure thats pretty easy to do.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Varn

Please, Once you factor out the 16-24 year olds who die in traffic accidents, the single biggest factor for accidents in my area are deer strikes. We see them (deer, not accidents) on about 40% of our car trips.

It seems quite obvious, though, that the smaller your car, the better your chance of not hitting (or being hit by) a deer. Smaller target, right?

Though I can tell you that it doesn't help much when the deer is hit by the oncoming SUV, bounced into the air, and comes down flat on your hood :-(

[Frank Lee]

Lotsa deer here but I'm not going to drive a barge because of it. Heck I even motorcycle everywhere... even at dusk and after dark! As noted, the big thing is to not overdrive your headlights. Once you have that idea down, you need a plan of action- in the event of a deer sighting where it looks like it/they might dart onto the road- other than just stabbing the brakes and bracing for the inevitable hit. For example, I told my passenger once that I'm not ignoring them by not looking their way when they spoke to me; I was listening but keeping my eyes peeled on the ditches for deer because it was prime time at dusk for them to be out. And, I had a plan of action in the event I saw them in either ditch. Wouldn't you know it, minutes after saying that I saw a buck running hell-bent towards the road from my right. Having situational awareness, I knew that the left lane on the two-lane was open and so simultaneously braked, swerved deep into the left, and I think I got a good horn blast in there too. Good thing too- that buck didn't put any effort into slowing down or changing course until the last second. That's as close as I've ever gotten to hitting a deer in 35 years of driving in deer country.

Funny you named the thread "Avoiding the unexpected deer" and your plan is everything but.

[Varn]

Actually FrankLee my first deer strike was when I was doing 35 mph and this deer was coming down on the front of my car. It was at a full run of what 25-30 mph and leaped the ditch onto the road just where my van was. It did not involve not being aware or over driving my headlights more like a deer suicide. My mini van was crippled but I made it the 1/4 mile home and got my deer rifle to finish it if needed. I got back and the deer was dead. Van got fixed for 3500 bux. Second deer I was going slow and about the same thing happened. I managed to brake scooping up the deer at 10 mph and throwing it against the hood leaving a head print. No plan there except try and stop before I got there. The ditches are deep in that area and swerving is not an option.

We see and stop for deer countless times a year. They are completely unpredictable. I have seen a herd cross the road then cross back a short distance later.

We used to see deer mainly at night but in the last few years it is an anytime occurrence. Of course the day deer are easier to miss Maybe they can see cars better and avoid.

My wife mentioned to me just now that two men were killed this year on motorcycles both near us. Both hit deer. Both were experienced riders. We ride motorcycles for fun but never start a trip after dark. Do you feel lucky?

In the winter a car would not be practical for months sometimes. It ain't going to happen.

Please no more tips on avoiding deer strikes or my driving style.

Back to the topic of improving mileage. Thanks

[Clev]

Originally Posted by Varn

Please, Once you factor out the 16-24 year olds who die in traffic accidents, the single biggest factor for accidents in my area are deer strikes.

Uh, sorry, that's completely incorrect. According to the Missouri DOT, 3,419 of the 166,052 crashes, or 2%, involved a collision with a deer. Only 5 people died in deer-car collisions in the entire state of Missouri.

That's from 2007, the last year they provided statistics, but I found an article from late 2008 that indicated that deer-related accidents in Missouri were declining from the 2007 numbers.

[Lokalazeros]

If you like mechanic / metal working, why not start with a smaller car you like, and add deer-protection to it ? (full cage, front bull-bar, ect.). You get the advantage of small car (FE) and the protection you care about.

I am trowing this idea even if I know most people would not build a full race-spec cage in their subcompact in the event they were to hit a deer, but because I, personally, would have fun engineering and building such a car.