Bloody Deer!

[Calmyertits]

Driving 70mph (at the speed limit i might add!) On the way home and a bloody deer ran out infront of me. Im in a job which means im very aware of how many people roll their cars or end up in serious accidents trying to avoid them by jerking the steering, so i braked and held my line but hit it pretty hard still. Yes very sad the deer is dead and I would of avoided it if i could but now the front grill bit of my bumper is smashed, think im missing fog lights, my radiator is exposed and theres a massive crack in the bumper. Hopefully the radiator isnt damaged and my cars not sat in a puddle of water when i go to do the school run. Im lucky Dp is in the motor trade but i could really do without the expense and im stuffed if my radiator is damaged and cars out of action until it gets repaired. And then there was no where to park either when i got home, got in bed eventually and realised id left some shopping in there i cant be arsed to go back out and get now aswell!

I don’t understand...if you know there are deer, and you had a close call before, why would you drive at 70mph?

This has happened to me twice. Both times the deer jumped out from a hedge. No chance of avoiding them whatsoever.
First time I was driving at 50mph on a straight country road.
Second time was held at a traffic light queue on the outskirts of a town. Deer leapt out from hedge, landed on my bonnet and ran off.

I didnt ask to me crucified for driving the speed limit, its a very very long stretch of road, and they are not there very often, its not near fields or rural, but they could be anywhere along several miles of road. Its not one particular bit and no signs. As i already stated, if i drove 20mph under the speed limit i still would of hit it because it ran from the right hand lane into the left. I would of had to smash my car off the road to avoid it. I never said i wasnt sorry i hit the deer, i didnt laugh all the way home either. Yes im annoyed my cars broken but that doesnt make me an animal abuser either. I equally am not willing to kill or injure myself to save a deer. I wasnt looking to be bashed or have an argument.

If you know there are lots of deer around that area then why are you driving at 70 mph? Just because that's the speed limit doesn't mean that it's safe to drive at that speed. You're lucky that you're not injured. And poor deer.

Imo be very grateful you are here to tell your story...

What were you looking for then? I suppose if you don’t say, then you’re more likely to get people talking about all angles of your post. 🤷🏻‍♀️

actually, muntjac deer are not native to the UK, and are currently a bit out of control. Their population has no natural predators and they are in competition with our native deer for habitat.

We could reintroduce wolves

Glad you're ok.

It happens quite a lot, and it's very traumatic.

I had slightly similar with driving over a fox a few months ago. The thing just - stopped - in the middle of the road. They normally scuttle away. So I could only imagine how shocking a deer would be.

Poor deer. Living rurally, I have had a lot of near misses. My morning drive to the station is littered with the dead bodies of deer and badgers. Pheasants are the worst for jumping out in front of the car and squirrels around here seem to have a death wish

OP is allowed to be upset about what's happened to her.

Deer warning signs are a waste of time. Even if you crawl along at 5mph, the damage done by a deer landing on your car will still be substantial.

You can't pick up what you kill in this country but the car behind you can.

@Dinnafashyersel

Are you sure it's a 70mph? Are you in the UK? Don't know of any unfenced dual carriageway routes round our way so I'm surprised this is an issue.

A fence is no problem for any deer including muntjacs,

I live in Sweden and there has been a few times when a moose has ran out in front of my car. Luckily there was plenty of time to avoid it but I often have to drive at night in bad conditions and am terrified of hitting one of them. Saw this on the news a few days ago and I think I would have had a heart attack if I had been in that car.

Click here

The quickly increasing deer numbers is one of the reasons there is a push to reintroduce lynx.

@Twinkie01

You can't pick up what you kill in this country but the car behind you can.

I believe that only applies to pheasant?

Muntjac just need to be gutted and skinned. A lot of blood will come out from that and if you soak with a few water changes more will come out ( I haven't got anywhere to hang one). Hanging is for tenderising the meat through decay but makes it stronger flavoured and they are pretty strongly flavoured anyway. I usually casserole it in the slow cooker so its tender anyway.

@DGRossetti

actually, muntjac deer are not native to the UK, and are currently a bit out of control. Their population has no natural predators and they are in competition with our native deer for habitat.

We could reintroduce wolves

Hard to tell from your post, but try to moderate your speed at dusk and dawn, and also try to be careful when there is cover on both sides or one side of the road, such as woodland. So sorry to hear about the deer.

Oh yes, and another thing remember where there is one there is often more than one, sometimes three or four, so don't assume that just because one has run across the road there isn't another one to come.