Once again I've had a near miss with a deer. This one was a big boy running across the road on my way home from down state. My wife and I were doing 55 mph at dusk when this BIG deer ran full speed from the far side of the road. I hit the brakes hard and brake assist did the rest. The tires squealed and the ABS light lit, but we managed to miss the deer. He (or she - I don't recall antlers) looked like an elk - a very big and solid body. I think we would have tested the air bags if we had collided. Tom
That would be some expensive venison. :madgrin: Maybe Tom should mount some of those ultrasonic deer whistles on his car. :madgrin:
Nope. Only hard, fast, tire squealing braking. No pull to either side, no loss of control. Brake Assist is a wonderful system. I had full braking action before I even knew I was reacting to the deer. My wife said "Wow! I thought we would hit that one for sure, and it was going to be bad." On the good side, we had a great view of a beautiful animal. He (she?) was in a full run, outstretched legs, just a few feet in front of the car. Tom
Something that big probably would have tested the airbags and the windshield. I've heard of more than a few cases in which someone hit a deer and it's torso just came through the glass. Not good. Not good at all.
Right, the real problem, the torso is stuck in the car and it's thrashing around, if you can't get out... well only one solid object can occupy that space at that moment. I was in a 6 volt vw at dusk and a large deer crossed in front of me right to left, terrible headlights, caught him square and he did a forward roll on the car, as he was coming around to his feet (on top of the car) and sliding off his antlers took the drivers side rear view mirror off, he just walked away, I checked and no dents or scrapes just a mirror dangling on his 12 point wrack, slo-mo accident, pheww
You can steer the car around the deer while slamming on the brakes. Such is the nature of ABS brakes. As you depress the brakes, more weight is thrown forward on the front wheels. The steering then becomes precise. The control is like its on rails. Of course you have to know where to steer. If you lift your foot, the weight is off the front and you may lose control. This requires a little practice because most of us lift when we steer.
There was no time to steer in this instance. Besides, you have to guess which way to steer with a running animal. I don't know how much experience you have with deer, but we get a lot of practice around here. They never run the same route twice: straight, back and forth, zig zag, come from behind - you just never know. The safest bet is to brake hard and stay in your lane. It's better to hit a deer than oncoming traffic or a large tree. Tom
We see deer often near our home even in L.A. but I only have one experience with a close call. I was driving a then new '86 Audi 5000CS Quattro, the first production car to have ABS and all wheel drive. On a rare foggy and wet evening on Mulholland Drive (famous for great corners) I turned a blind corner and encountered a deer which froze in my headlights. He was in the middle of the road facing right. So I slammed on the brakes and steered to the left to avoid hitting him. There was very little road left between the deer and the cliff but the car handled like it was on rails. Then I had to react again because of on coming traffic by accelerating to the right. In this case the all wheel drive also helped even on a wet pavement but the pulsation of the ABS could be felt through my foot Thankfully he didn't dart to the left or it would have been disasterous. No one was hurt and the deer was gone when I looked in my rear view mirror.
I had a deer that just stood in front of my car when I was going though the Blue Ridge Mts a few years ago. Apparently not concerned as it was not hunting season and he really needed to check out that patch of freeway. I honked my horn, advanced on him and we sat there looking at each other for about 5 minutes until a new car showed up and he finally decided it was time to move on.
Being able to brake *and* steer is the great thing about ABS. Add VCS and you have a real thing of wonder. My Prius tracks so well in the snow I have to remind myself that the roads are slippery. I like your story about a deer just standing in the road. That's another good approach. That way he forces you to do something. It's all part of their master plan. Tom
Does anyone remember a TV commercial where a couple of small animals play 'chicken' with an incoming car ? One of my favorites
Yeah, that was good. There is also a good Farside cartoon where a bunch of dogs are on one side of a busy road, with one of the dogs looking scared and winded. One of the other dogs says "Okay, he made it. Rusty is in the club." Tom
I had a pelican do that in Monterey a few years back. Since I was in a convertible with the top down, I figured I shouldn't scare the crap out of him.
