robmypro

Well guys, I almost had a very bad incident today. Driving through the mountains and the guy in front of us hit two deer. And I mean he hit them. One went over the windshield. Fortunately I wasn't following THAT close. Well, i was close enough that when I pulled over to talk to the guy, there was deer hair on my car. And since this is the first time in 7 years of living here that I have witnessed something like this, I can promise you that if it does happen, there is nothing you can do. These 4 deer literally appeared at the last second, and bam. One was thrown 50 feet or so on the other side of the road. The second one landed right in front of me, and I barely missed hitting him. If this guy hadn't been in front of us, we would have hit them. It was that close.

This story does have a semi happy ending. The deer I missed hitting was laying in the road for 5 or 10 minutes motionless. Then I see an ear move. At this point I am telling the wife we need to go. Everyone is okay, and people are on the way. I think she was thinking why are we leaving? I am thinking If that deer doesn't get up when they get here, he is getting shot. I just didn't want her to see that.

The deer raises his head, looks around with the WTF look, gets up and walks away. No limp. Nothing. That was awesome.

Bottom line guys, if you are driving up here be really careful. Honestly, I don't know what you can do, because when they bolt out of nowhere, and they are on you, it will get ugly. No amount of reaction or braking is going to matter.

Definitely has me questioning some roads I have been frequenting. Eventually my number is going to come up, and the impact would be brutal in this car. No doubt potentially life threatening for all parties. This guy had a truck, and the radiator was busted, dumping fluid all over. Big dent in front, side mirror ripped off, etc. Impact was BAD.

The animals are out. If you live near wildlife, be on your guard.

P.S. In typical GT3 fashion a driver pulls over with two deer and debri in the road...and goes...may I ask what year your Porsche is?

bronson7

I've seen the same thing happen, fortunately not me. It's not pleasant and they sure can do major damage.

robmypro

Yeah, pretty brutal Bronson. You don't want to be in a Porsche if this happens.

16'991GT3

Good to hear you and the driver ahead are all right, my dad was once driving back from work in his suv and at night, then out of nowhere a deer ran out and rammed the side. The whole drivers front side was messed up and really nothing he could do to prevent it so our thing has been to try and avoid areas where we have seen deer before at night time

robmypro

Thanks. Yeah, we are pretty much thinking avoidance, but from the second we leave the house we have wildlife in every direction. If i look out my window now, i bet a see at least a few. They are EVERYWHERE.

We don't drive the GT3 at night, for that reason.

16'991GT3

Ya I feel you, we some times have deers in our yard, but definitely easier to avoid out here than your area, we just have to go to main roads and you won't really see them here, they mostly hang around in a back roads type of setting over here

Haku

Deer have won the war. It's as simple as that! I think it applies to almost all rural areas now.

I was an avid motorcycle rider. Four years ago a collision with a deer brought that to an abrupt end along with my Triumph Bonneville, shoulder with posterior dislocation, broken scapula, collar bone, 5 ribs, a bunch of other bits, and much pain. Thankfully I was wearing a lot of protective gear and therefore survived! Six months of mucho pain and zero desire to ride again made me sell all four bikes. Fast forward to last month... my family and I are in our Audi Allroad enjoying a nice drive and out of nowhere... Bam! Deer hits the car. Everyone was ok and very lucky. Bumper, lights, etc. damage. Drove the car to the dealer the same day and swapped it for a higher bigger car!

You can be careful, go fast or slow, have a big car or small, all one can do is keep honing those reflexes and know what to do in that split second when you spot bambi.

Be careful all.

jpohill

Deer are Bad! Elk are far worse! Was 1/4 mile back on I-25 when a bull elk came off a hill full speed crossing highway! 3 cars totaled and some folks went to the hospital.
Glad to hear the GT3 is safe!

robmypro

Thanks. Car is **** as usual. You are not kidding about those Elk. You hit one of those and you are going to the hospital.

BTW, the guy who hit the deer gets out of his car, comes up to us, and we start talking. A minute later he goes "hey nice car, glad it wasn't you".

People in Colorado are the best.

robmypro

**** Haku, that is full on. Hope you are 100% now. And it is a split second. They just launch right into you. There was no way to avoid that incident. It would have been us if he wasn't there. Guaranteed.

BTW, I almost died on a motorcycle. Going over 100mph with no helmet (30 years ago) and the bike became unstable. Starting gyrating (wobbling) violently, and it took everything i had to keep it under control. It was like riding a bull. Never again.

Buteo

Glad you are okay. It is a good reminder that our beautiful mountain roads have hidden dangers all around.

I nearly blasted a male deer last year in my factory five Daytona coupe. Was enjoying a spirited run from Morrison towards Evergreen (not speeding but aggressive). Came around a bend and a huge deer jumped out just as I was turning in. Hit the brakes (no abs) and was amazed I didn't hit him. Lucky day for both of us.

Banango

Glad you, your wife, the car, and the other driver are OK. Your heart must have been liberally distributing epinephrine through bloodflow! It's not just CO. Within 20 miles of NYC there are deer, and they jump out into the highway without warning here too...doubtless with attitude. My single biggest concern about the trip down to TN next month is varmints leaping into the road. Frightening.

bigskyGT3

I can not imagine the force of an impact with an elk. Crazy. Lots of animals where I am. I hit a large bird 2 weeks ago when driving my Tundra. Must have been a pheasant. Big bird. He/she hit my headlight straight on and blew it out. No body damage, just lightened my wallet by $450. Absolutely no warning. Its almost like an animal suicide moment. The key with the big critters is if a collision at speed is inevitable, don't try to steer around it, just go through it and apply steady brakes. Glad everyone was OK.

silverrules

Oh deer. We have them all over here as well.

Gef3rd

I have a friend in CA with a LaFerrari. He shipped it to Montana for tax purposes. He showed me a video of him in the car doing north of 120. I asked him if he was worried about a deer or some other wildlife jumping out in front of him. You could see the look on his face as he was thinking "Oh sh*t - I never thought about that"! Priceless. I'm going to tell him this story. Glad you and your wife are ok. You can always fix/replace a car.