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| Fall colors: red leaves and blue sky. |
It’s that time of year again when
driving, especially at night, makes me a little nervous because of concern over
deer in the road.
Deer are plentiful in our area
year-round. They often visit our yard, and we see them in other places in the
neighborhood. We enjoy their presence.
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| This is a poor photograph, but it's one I took through the window at night in September. The deer set off the motion lights in the yard. If I open the door to go out and try for a better photo, they run. |
But the big fear is that we’ll hit
one while driving.
According to the Virginia DMV, most deer-related
accidents in Virginia occur in the fall months, October through December.
I was part of those statistics
five years ago, in December 2009.
I was driving back to Altavista
from Forest, which is in Bedford County, a neighboring county. The back roads I
took were curvy and sometimes narrow, but the route cut miles off the trip and
provided lovely views.
It was about 10:30 in the morning.
I had seen a deer standing in a yard as I passed, so I had a fresh reminder of
their presence. I was just tooling along, under the speed limit. I wasn’t
listening to the radio. I wasn’t eating. I was just driving.
And it still happened.
My car hit something as I came
around a curve. I saw a deer flashing away from my car. The hood of my car was
crumpled.
I was shocked, but I managed to
find a place to pull over. A kind couple turned their pickup around and came to
check on me. We looked at my car. Deer hair covered the hood. Everything in the
front seemed pushed towards the front seats. It was a mess.
The couple stayed with me until
the state trooper arrived. Then Larry arrived.
He said as he walked up to my car,
the trooper turned to him and said, “She’s all right. But I think she’s more
upset about the deer than the car.”
“That would be right,” Larry said
to him.
And I was upset. I felt terrible
that I had hit the deer. Apparently it had jumped a fence and then tried to
clear the road. The trooper speculated that hunters were out with dogs, running
the deer.
I was lucky. I wasn’t hurt and my
car, though heavily damaged, wasn’t totaled. I was especially nervous driving
for a while, but that settled down.
What I kept thinking was, I did
everything I could to avoid an accident. I wasn’t speeding. I wasn’t
distracted. And I still hit a deer.
That notion that we can do
everything “right” and still have trouble is sobering, and not an easy one to
accept when you have an uneasy relationship with uncertainty, as I do.
After the crash, my boss gave me
some little whistle-like gadgets to put on the front fender. They are supposed
to help prevent deer from running out in front of your car. I don’t know if
they actually work, but I was willing to try them, and they’re still on my car.
And that idea that bad things can
happen anytime? I have to accept it. I have to get used to it. All I can do is
my best to drive carefully. That’s all any of us can do.
Do you see wildlife near the
highways where you live?
Yes, this the season to be vigilant about watching for deer while on the road. I never trust them when I see them...I'm always afraid they will dart out in front of me. And there seem to be just so darn many of them too!
ReplyDeleteBeen there, done that...And teh worst part, besides totaling my beloved truck, was the doe was too badly mangled to even salvage the venison off her! At least I was able to buy the truck back and get it fixed.
ReplyDeleteup in wisconsin, you see lots of vehicles with those whistle things mounted. too many bad accidents with deer.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't sound as if you hit a deer, Tina, It sounds as if the deer hit you...........happened to me once with a dog, who thankfully was okay. And you are right..........these accidents are out of our control. But you dealt with it!
ReplyDeletea horrible time of year for the deer and us!! we see them all time time. i have pictures of bambi scheduled for wednesday. they are beautiful creatures, they need to come further out of the woods this time of year, in order to find food. the headlight confuse them. we are always on the lookout!!!
ReplyDeletechuck's first accident, at 17, was with a deer!!!!
I hit a deer once. It is unnerving. Hope your whistle gadgets work.
ReplyDeleteJust saw a dead deer on the side of the road a few days ago. It was very upsetting. We have to be really careful around here, and I'm surprised there aren't more car-deer collisions.
ReplyDeleteI live in Virginia, too, and the roads are full of roadkill in the winter. The foxes and deer make me saddest. I have a driving phobia, and I avoid driving at night, and the thought of hitting something scares me.
ReplyDeleteoh dear what an experience, I've never hit a deer or moose but have come upon cars that have, sad all around, I hope those gadgets work...
ReplyDeleteWe have so many deer where I live they want to do a cull. The deer have become a real danger on the roads.
ReplyDeleteA close call! Glad you came out all right and I hope the deer did, too. We have a lot of deer around here, too. I have never hit one, but I know people who have. Fortunately, the damage to the car was the major problem, although who knows about the deer is they get away. While I know it's possible to hit a deer, I have more problem with the frogs jumping across the road at dusk in the springtime. They just seem so defenseless. Still, they won't harm my car..
ReplyDeleteI can see how that would be upsetting. I think I would have a hard time driving after that (at least for a while) worrying about if I could hit something. But we have to go forward, don't we? I get nervous sometimes at the intersection where I got into a fender bender last year--I'm cautious again after a recent near-miss. There's no turn arrow and sometimes people try to turn left instead of yielding right-of-way.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right in this post. Deer are very quick and very unpredictable. It's good that you got some confidence back.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago we hit a large deer with a HUGE rack and the poor deer died and our car was totaled. It was very upsetting.
ReplyDeleteOh Tina I am so sorry this happened knowing you this was a very hard thing to get passed but you must. I hit a dog three weeks ago and it still bothers me it was not my fault there was nothing I could have done if I had of swerved to miss it I would have rolled my Jeep and my children would not have there Mom. It still bothers me and I am sure the guilt will stay but things happen in this life that we cannot control but we must get past it and move on. I think the dog lived the owners never phoned so I am assuming he was OK. Big dent in my Jeep but I do not care about that. You are fine that is the important part. HUG HUG B
ReplyDeleteWe just recently had an article in our local newspaper on this very subject. I bet it was awful hitting the deer even though you tried not to. I can't imagine dealing with that. I can't even run over something that is already dead on the road so I know I would be a basket case if I hit a deer. I'm so glad you weren't hurt other then the emotional trauma of the event.
ReplyDeleteOh Tina, I'm so sorry. That had to be incredibly frightening and yes, I suspect it will take some time to recover from. I'm glad you were all right physically, though. We don't see them as often as some do, but yes, they are around and everywhere. I'm especially cautious on more country-oriented roads.Still -- you just never know.
ReplyDelete