To Swerve or Not, That is the Question, Deer in the Road

[spenac]

So based on a LOD discussion.

You are driving Deer jumps in the road. What do you do? Jerk the wheel? Center up on the deer?

A side discussion how many have properly equipped ambulances that can hit a deer and just keep going? At my former full time job, current part time, we have replaced factory bumpers and replaced with heavy duty steel bumpers,grill guards. We have actually hit two large mule deer at one time and just kept going. After patient dropped at hospital all we had to do was go wash the ambulance, no damage.

Did you know that on the new chevy ambulances the nice shiny front bumper is actually plastic? It is at my full time job someone hit a deer. The bumper broke into pieces. Several thousand dollars worth of damages.

[flight-lp]

Floor it, the faster you hit, the more likely it is to clear the ambulance .

Seriously though, many organizations have policies in place to not swerve to hit or miss wildlife. Hit it, kill it, but don't get others involved. In short, night - night Bambi!

[paraloco]

DOn't swerve to avoid anything. That is what gets you injured or killed. Abrupt maneuvers are bad. Hit the brakes.

[spenac]

Floor it, the faster you hit, the more likely it is to clear the ambulance .

Seriously though, many organizations have policies in place to not swerve to hit or miss wildlife. Hit it, kill it, but don't get others involved. In short, night - night Bambi!

I saw that episode of mythbusters too.

Glad to hear that services actually value employees more than ambulances. Of course they probably still fire the driver for destruction of property.

[spenac]

DOn't swerve to avoid anything. That is what gets you injured or killed. Abrupt maneuvers are bad. Hit the brakes.

Hitting brakes? Not a good idea on highway as you slam your partner around in the back. Maybe if you are going slow on a city street but bad idea on the highway.

[firedoc5]

A friend of mine sister wrecked a car to avoid hitting a squirrel. How embarrassing would it be to try to explain that you wrecked an ambulance to avoid hitting a small animal? A deer would be a little different. It depends on how much reaction time you have. If you know there is no way to miss it, no matter what you do, then don't swerve. I know one morning, very early, we were coming back from a coal mine call and we had a deer hit us, right in the side of the rig. It just sort of bounced off. Also had the same thing with a dog one night. Ran right into the side.

Another service called our dispatch one night saying they hit a deer on the Interstate. Guess they were doing about 85-90 mph. It was a large deer. It actually shoved the radiator and fan against the engine block and totalled the ambulance. We had one crew take their patient to where they were en-route to, and our own mechanic went out to help until the tow truck got to them. Between deer parts and vehicle parts, it was a mess.

[spenac]

Never swerve. If you can make a soft adjustment in steering fine but do not swerve. Do not slam your brakes. Remember every action you take as driver is magnified a 100 times in the patient compartment.

[jsadin]

This BMW seems to have done ok at 140mph. Yes, the deer is completely inside the engine compartment.

[web:b4da91cde7]http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16061&stc=1&d=1200542066[/web:b4da91cde7]

[Ridryder 911]

Must have been a small deer...

Deer kills more people than lightning.. some of the worse trauma patients I have seen was from striking the Deer and it coming through the windshield.

I guess it depends on how venison you want?

R/r 911.

[Kaisu]

For the past eight years or so, I have been driving up from Wisconsin and along the north shore of Lake Superior into Canada once a month. (My brother calls WI the state of the exploding deer). As an insomniac, I often drive in the wee hours in the dark. I cannot count the number of deer, wolves, eagles, bears, etc. that I have encountered along the way. Wildlife has jumped in front of my vehicle innumerable times. I have had many close calls but have made contact only once. I slowed down enough that I "bumped" the deer into the ditch.

Always be alert to the possibility of wildlife crossing. If you are familiar with the area, you will know where deer cross. When approaching areas I know are popular with deer, I will honk my horn although that may be whistling past the graveyard. A buck in rut will not be thinking much beyond does. Does will be warned off.

If an animal appears on the road in front of you, never, ever swerve. Apply brakes only as safe to do so. Hit the horn. Does often travel together - if you see one, there is a good chance others are behind it. Generally, the white tail deer is relatively small and if you do hit one in a reasonable sized vehicle, the deer will be toast but you will be fine. The mule deer are bigger and more dangerous. In Canada, what I fear are the moose (or swamp donkeys as they are referred to up there). Those suckers are tall, and when you hit them in the legs, they do come into the car with you.

In short, keep your eyes open and drive smart.