Motorcyclist Hits Deer

[CaptainMal]

Been riding motorcycles since 1956 and still riding. Traveled the world - do mean the world - on motorcycles. Lots of adventures you do not get sitting home wasting your life away watching TV and living in your fears. That's a sad way to live and I see that here on this forum there are many that live in their fears.

As for hitting deer - sure. One morning going to work teaching, a small buck dove off a hillside in Pa. where I lived back then. It crashed right into my left leg. Kept the Harley up and was able to get it to a guardrail along the road where I could hold the bike up with my right leg. Left leg broken but right leg good. Deer dead in the road behind me and my beautiful bike with a broken controls. Police came, drug the deer off the road and ambulance people lifted me off the bike.

Three weeks later - riding again. Now at 78 my wife and I crashed last year when the front brakes just locked up on their own. Yes, you read that right. We both got hurt but good clothing sure helped. One month later we ride again.

If you were afraid of bears, moose, snakes, charging deer, bee stings, crocks, sinking boats, lightening, rays etc, would you quit hunting and fishing?

One good thing is there are many who do live in their fears. I say GOOD. That means you are not out bothering me when I hunt and fish and also not in my way when I am out enjoying a fun motorcycle ride.

Stay home in your fears and watch the TV.

 

[Shooter13]

I did this back in 1980 on a new fatbob, a long story I'll have to share some day.

 

[hogpatrol]

I'm in the burbs and had a doe cross the road in front of me at 2:30 in the afternoon. Last week, a couple miles from my home. I rode years ago and it was dangerous then. Now, at least in my neck of the woods, it's downright suicidal. An acquaintance that owns a body shop says he's never been busier. People just don't pay attention.

Motorcycle Rider Airlifted After Striking Deer In Glasgow Monday

New Castle County Police are investigating a motorcycle accident that left a man hospitalized. At approximately 9:52 p.m. the New Castle County Paramedics (NCCEMS), the Aetna Hose Hook and Ladder Company of Newark, Christiana Fire Company, and Delaware State Police Aviation, were dispatched to...

firststateupdate.com

 

[6MMsteve]

My wife has a scooter 49cc and I ride it sometimes and very weary of deer jumpin out of a cornfield or growed up fenceline, scary thought. Glad the rider was ok very lucky he was

 

[Iowa Fox]

Steep ditch's are the worst. You absolutely can not see them until they come crashing through your windshield.

 

[pikespeakgoat]

Good on you for stopping to offer aid!!

I've left skid marks more than once with my Fatboy. Deer, elk, antelope, and most recently, a turkey flying across the road at shoulder height.

Even with all the animal risks, it's the idiot/inattentive car drivers that scare me the most by far.

 

[ronsatspokane]

Been riding motorcycles since 1956 and still riding. Traveled the world - do mean the world - on motorcycles. Lots of adventures you do not get sitting home wasting your life away watching TV and living in your fears. That's a sad way to live and I see that here on this forum there are many that live in their fears.

As for hitting deer - sure. One morning going to work teaching, a small buck dove off a hillside in Pa. where I lived back then. It crashed right into my left leg. Kept the Harley up and was able to get it to a guardrail along the road where I could hold the bike up with my right leg. Left leg broken but right leg good. Deer dead in the road behind me and my beautiful bike with a broken controls. Police came, drug the deer off the road and ambulance people lifted me off the bike.

Three weeks later - riding again. Now at 78 my wife and I crashed last year when the front brakes just locked up on their own. Yes, you read that right. We both got hurt but good clothing sure helped. One month later we ride again.

If you were afraid of bears, moose, snakes, charging deer, bee stings, crocks, sinking boats, lightening, rays etc, would you quit hunting and fishing?

One good thing is there are many who do live in their fears. I say GOOD. That means you are not out bothering me when I hunt and fish and also not in my way when I am out enjoying a fun motorcycle ride.

Stay home in your fears and watch the TV.

Yeah, I've been riding for over 50 years. In some years I was putting 30,000 miles a year on bikes and had up to 6 bikes in my shop. Had many close calls over the years with animals. Both the four legged kind and the ones with two legs and small brains (humans behind the wheel). I've been down on bikes on the street and off road. Fortunately never hurt real bad physically but have had a severely bruised ego a couple of times. Never really instilled any fear in me. Perhaps my brain is smaller than others but living life comes with risk and the risk in my mind is acceptable at this point. Of course I'm usually heading out of town when I ride and I don't ride in large groups. The area I live in is infested with those hoofed rats so you've got to keep an eye out but as they say, it's the one you didn't see that you end up hitting.

That said, there was that Wood Buffalo (much bigger than the buffalo down in the US) that spun around and started chasing me up on the lower end of the Great Slave Lake when riding up to Yellowknife a number of years back. That would have been ugly.

 

[RDavies]

It is since I got back into bikes a month ago that I have seen a few dead deer on the side of the road. Already 2 kangaroos have jumped out at me so I am not doing much riding around dawn and dusk.

 

[1shot]

Many years ago, a deer ran out in front of me when I was less the 100 yds. from my house. I thew the bike down to avoid the collision, but my right leg got caught under the bike. Plenty of road rash and ground a flat spot on the outside of the ankle bone. Just as I'm getting my bearings a guy stops and ask me if I was ok? I said I'm not sure. He then ask me if I can get the bike back on two wheels, and I said I don't know, I've never put it down before. With that he says "well good luck, and drives off!!"
And that is why I like my dogs better than a lot of people!

Lloyd

 

[rjtfroggy]

Unfortunately, my riding days are over, at age 70 I rode since I was a teenager and loved every minute of it. I like many here have had some close calls but never hit anything (thank God).
I did not give up two wheels because of fear but because of physical problems, 8 lumbar surgeries, both knees need replacing, bad hip, and a urostomy bag now hanging from my abdomen, none of which in inducive to riding.
So, sitting in my garage is a 2003 Electra Glide Classic, Firefighter edition, 100th anniversary, that is all chromed out with 9,000 miles on it that I just can't bring myself to sell. Out of all the Harleys I have owned this is by far the nicest one I have ever owned.
Old saying, "there are two types of riders, those who never went down and those who are about too".

 

[Rem06]

How do you ride carefully enough to avoid a deer springing out in front of you?
-

prepare for the slide , not the ride is what my buddy told me.

yes, he too got his buck, well the PSP (Pa State Police)got it because he was life flighted to the local trauma center!
he later got the horns.

that was the 2nd friend that got a life flight ride from a motorcycle.

 

[NorCalMikie]

Passed a deer doing about 60 on the way to work one morning. Deer standing on the double line and not knowing which way it would go, I chose to go left.
As I passed it, I could see the fleas and ticks jumping off. Got to the top of the hill, pulled over, changed my shorts and as I quit shaking, loaded up and headed on to work.
Next morning, raining like cats and dogs so I took the car. Got "the deer" at the top of the hill. Was still laying there on the way home that afternoon.
Only thing worse than a deer is a logging truck with a full load coming on from a logging road to the main road. It had stopped then the front bumper started up when he let the clutch out. Stepping and fetching time!!

 

[mills braswell]

Stay home in your fears and watch the TV.

Living in fear is one end of the spectrum, being reckless is the other end. I wrecked my motorcycle years ago. This was my own fault, nothing to do with a deer, just my own recklessness and alcohol. I was lucky to come out of it with a mild concussion, broken clavicle, and fractured scapula.

Since then (back in the mid-late nineties) I haven't had the desire to ride again. My bike was broke and I didn't want to get another one.

With all the idiots on the road here in Southeastern Va. (mostly folks from out of state moving here) I wouldn't dare attempt to ride again.

In the early 2000's one of our county police officers was killed when he wrecked his bike because someones dog ran out in front of him. He definitely didn't live in fear, nor was being reckless riding in the midday doing the speed limit. One reckless dog owner caused his death. Of course they were not held responsible.

Now if that officer was in a car what would have been the outcome????? He would be alive and still serving our community. Dog would have been buried, not the man.

So from my perspective, in today's world, riding a motorcycle isn't "not living in fear" but "living with exacerbated risks", so I chose not to ride anymore. So does that mean I live in fear? Or does it just mean I choose to not let myself become a victim from the lack of protection those machines fail to provide?

 

[Jim G]

I worked with a fellow that drove a Gold Wing. He and his wife were riding down the nearby two lane highway when he hit a deer. He was doing 60 mph and they way he hit the deer, it caused the deer to spin with the rear end of the deer hitting the leg of his wife. He managed to keep the bike up right and stopped. His wife ended up with a broken leg and the deer died. It was amazing that he could keep the bike up.

 

[kneedtospeed]

I could write an Unbelievable book, on my 50+ years of crashing motorcyles, on and off tracks, around the country .
My body Hurts Everyday.
I still Love to ride, as much as I ever did, even though I’m all screwed and glued together.

 

[Bocephus]

Yeah...that would've been my thoughts as well..........was it obvious that it was a tongue when you first saw it?

Not really. Was trying to access the situation, just noticed a fresh chunk of flesh near the impact sight.

 

[SEM]

Many a good views on life happen in these forums.
Most things in life are a gamble of some sort, all with differing levels of estimated loss.

We all pay our monies and take our chances.

I myself fall into the group of “I don’t ride anymore because of a close call that was beyond my control”. LUCK before skill is how I come out physically un-damaged, mentally I decided the risk was not worth the rewards as riding became far less enjoyable.

OP glad you helped a fellow in distress.

pot hole filled with loose gravel on a very narrow levee road blind turn and dry grass at the edge of the pavement, woke up a few minutes later looking for my wife. She was only bruised me worse had to soak in the tub to get my socks and one pant leg loose. I did straighten it up with the help of the highway patrol and ride it home, sold the bike 2 days later, Never looked back

 

[Bocephus]

How do you ride carefully enough to avoid a deer springing out in front of you?
-

In todays world I really don’t think it is possible. It seems that almost all the DOT are keeping the state R/W areas mowed less frequently, budget cuts maybe. And as mentioned, the deer are staying very close to houses/people. This morning I saw four does suddenly explode from a hedgerow beside the highway as I passed by. Not sure why. Fortunately they were going the other way. A few miles down the road there was a fresh carcass in the other lane.

 

[Bocephus]

276' of skid mark? How fast was the biker going? I dropped my bike at 55 once and only slid ~60'.
Looking at your picture of the road, that's not one I'd race upon for the simple reason of too many potential dangers. A possum can kill in that instance.

Highway 2 through Montana and Idaho comes to mind as a beautiful ride, but there you risk deer, wild turkey, and elk in addition to farm implements and stupid drivers.


You can't, but when you ride, your head should be on a swivel. I've passed deer midday, feeding at the side of the road. One of those risks you take.

I’m not qualified to guess at the speed, but from the gouges in the asphalt, it appeared the bike was down immediately and the deer was riding with him for quite a distance. The only tire skid marks are those pictured before the bike stopped, so I don’t think he had time to hit either brake.

 

[Bocephus]

Maybe unavoidable, but sure sounds like he was flying low. I hope he was wearing a helmet. I'm bad about wearing one, even though my sister and my daughter (both nurses) tell me they have a name in the emergency room for motorcyclists that don't wear helmets...organ donors.

The helmet AND face shield were really messed up. Not sure what brand, but the shell was fiber, NOT polycarbonate, Not sure where the research stands today but years ago conventional wisdom said the fiberglass did a much better job of absorbing shock.