Deer Saved by Dr. F. A. Porsche

[old_skul]

You guessed it. On the way back from a nice 5 mile hike in lovely Clifton Gorge, Ohio, three lovely deer decided to have a soiree in the middle of a 55mph 2-lane road directly in front of my car.

At night.

Thank goodness for Driver's Ed programs. Had I not known how to threshold brake in my car those deer would likely have wound up in my lap.

Please be careful; it's deer season.

[JEB]

I saw three last night on a little jaunt. Lucky I wasn't going TOO fast. Darn those 930 brakes work well - almost threw me through the windshield. Threshold braking is the key.

Please be careful; it's deer season

DITTO that.


Jeb
79 930

[Jgordon]

Refresh my memory -- Threshold braking is when you tap the brakes to transfer the weight to the front of the car, and then lay into them, correct?

Jared

[Rouxzy]

Had a similar thing happen to me except it was with a moose. Going down highway doing about 70+ my lady and I were looking down at the cd player. At the last second I look up only to see a bull moose across my lane. No time to brake, turned sharply to right into breakdown lane then sharply back to left so as to not to hit guard rail. Heard a big thump as I went by the moose. Thought oh sh!!. I just got the car painted. Pulled over and found no damage. What I did find was moose hair on the left front wheel and tire from when I cut the wheel sharp to the right. Someone behind me who witnessed the whole thing stopped to check to see if we were alright. He said to me " I've never seen a car do that before." I feel that had I been in any other car I would have either rolled it or just hit the moose. For those of you who aren't familar with moose collisions, THE MOOSE ALWAYS WINS.

[mlangner]

Originally posted by Jgordon
Refresh my memory -- Threshold braking is when you tap the brakes to transfer the weight to the front of the car, and then lay into them, correct?

Jared

Think human ABS...

[HawgRyder]

Also...before you hit another moose....get a hunting licence..LOL
And maybe think of hunting with a smaller caliber weapon.
Bob

[autobonrun]

Several years back, while driving through east Texas one night, I passed a deer standing stock still in the right lane. Luckily I was in the left lane. I didn't see it until I was passing, and it was another second before it clicked what I just passed. I remember thinking Oh Sh#% that was a deer. I probably was going about 90 so if I had hit it, it would have probably been lights out.

Last year I did hit one in my BMW early morning. The only thing that helped is that it leaped up as I approached so only the legs caught the front of my hood. It rolled over the edge of the windshield on the passenger side. There was hair on my windshield and either dew or deer pee, I'm not sure which.

My four year old was in the back and kept saying you killed the deer. I badly wanted to say "screw the deer, look at my hood"; but being the good father I am, I didn't. The state trooper and I looked for it along a fence line but never found it.

[rhaas]

My Uncle hit a deer years ago. The deer went through the windshield and beat him to death before he could get out of the car. I am very cautious of big wildlife. I also hit a cow in a truck when I was a teenager. Truck totaled, cow walked away.

[ronb]

I live in a rural area...a problem w deer is you watch the first one bound across the road, and as your eyes follow it...you hit the 2nd one in the "pack". Don't watch them as they run off, keep watching for the NEXT one. (I have seen quite a few deer hit like this).

[twin plugged targa]

So is threshold braking pumping the brake repeatedly, or as one person suggested transferring the weight of the car to the front and then braking hard?
Also, do 'deer whistlers' work?- (small whistles attached to the car)rgds Ben

[rhenriksen]

"So is threshold braking pumping the brake repeatedly, or as one person suggested transferring the weight of the car to the front and then braking hard? "

Yea Gods, no. Threshold here means 'on the verge of locking up, but not quite'. You do want to apply the pedal quite forcefully and quickly, but not so suddenly as to lock the wheels. At threshold, the wheels are actually turning about 15% slower than if you were rolling along sans brakes. If you feel the ABS kicking in, back off ever so slightly to keep maximum pressure just this side of the ABS going off.

The tires should be 'talking' if you're doing it right, w/o locking up.

[ronb]

Deer whistlers MAY work - I think it's more a psychological benefit than one that affects deer. IE I have seen cars w them that have hit deer; but people who have them on their cars (or more usually, trucks) are more aware of deer. On the other hand, nobody has ever interviewed the deer that have run from the whistling cars (cf, you never hear about the dolphins that push the sailors away from the shore). Deer whistlers - inconclusive - and ruin the appearance of your front valence? Not for me

[Fishcop]

We have the same problem over here with Giant Grasshoppers. They have been known to survive the impact, come through the windscreen and kick the driver and passenger to death... no really!

Giant Grasshoppers aka Kangaroos

[kristian85]

Hmm, yes, I hit a large buck while going 75 mph on my motorcycle in 1999--threw me down the road, and broke both left forearm bones and put a slow end to my very illustrious MC career. Never got my Sturm und Drang back after that.

As with bikes, learning how to effect max braking is critical. You'll find me practicing when noone is behind me, from 60-90 mph and down.

There are no mechanical remedies to forestall the problem. Therefore, only prevention is truly helpful--adjust speeds to driving conditions, i.e., no going 90 mph at nite/mornings in places where there are deer, being aware of the migration seasons, etc. etc., and generally just being very vigilant.

And, again, practice hard braking, AND NEVER TRY TO STEER AWAY FROM THE DEER unless you KNOW you have the space for the avoidance manoever. It's a fact that most injuries in deer/MVA's occur because drivers/riders steer away from the danger, and wind up hitting very hard things, sometimes very far below the road surface.