CodyBigdog

I’ll let you know how good/bad it works after I have a chance to evaluate. The worst time to drive at night are during mating season. Bitches be crazy.

In all the years I’ve lived and driven in “deer country”, I’ve had one close call. A deer darted out on the side, and would have slammed into me, but he leaped over the car and we both escaped without any injury...although my heart skipped a beat or two. I think the real danger comes when the trees/brush that the deer hang out in, comes right up to the edge of the road. ...so, when the do appear, it’s without warning. That said, I won’t purposely go out and drive at night...but I won’t avoid going out at night for say dinner, show, etc just because it’s dark.

slc4s

i get more enjoyment per MPH on night drives... I can happily drive slower, stay safe AND have a blast. I love driving at night.

WellDressedCar

I'm younger than you and my eyes have been crap at night for 5 years. I blame my astigmatism.

But yeah, I agree with the original poster that night drives are amazing if you can swing them. Used to do them all the time.

HouTexCarreraS

Yeah, I'll do a purposeful night drive with caution in a populated area, but driving in the country on twisty roads is a no-no for me--especially right at dawn or dusk when it's cooler. I've had quite a few close encounters with deer, more so on motorcycles than in cars.

gcurnew

No issues with night drives in these parts. In 49 years of driving, I've never hit or had a close call with an animal at night, and the only incident I know of first-hand is a former business associate hitting a coyote with his 360 Modena.

drcollie

Guess it depends where you live. I have three deer strikes in vehicles, in each case they came running into the vehicle from the side and attempted to jump over it - FAIL

1) 1995 BMW M3 just 3 months old. $ 20,000 worth of damage including a new roof. Car was repaired. Alexandria VA 9 am in the morning if you can believe that.
2) 2000 Freightliner FL60 on I-95 south of Wilmington DE at midnight - 70 mph That deer was vaporized but I had blood and guts all over the windshield still three hours to get home.. $ 6,500 for a new hood. That would have been ugly in a car.
3) 2004 BMW 330i sedan in Fairfax Station VA at 6 p.m. $ 7,000 worth of damage.

Russian Mafia

I have long list but just some highlights:

Heading to Big Sky during a steady blizzard I happened upon a group of four..Elk? Young moose? Caribou? We'll never know but braked hard and stopped with them 5 feet from my front bumper. Wasn't going fast but in the snow I thought the car would never stop.

Outside Jackson Hole came around a bend and found a bull moose walking down the center of the road. Hard stop. narrow miss. We might have been spam had we hit him hard.

Through the meadow outside Park City during an overcast late night I came upon an elk, deceased and lying across the lane. I thud launched directly over him in my Audi Q5, landed and was sure I'd damaged something. The tech said there was loads of blood and guts but miraculously no damage.

Then there was the time in Southwest Colorado I rounded a rural bend at about 70 mph to find a herd of what seemed like thousands of sheep being herded down the middle of the road. There was a flagman so no real danger but finding that on the road was incredible. Apparently black sheep really are a thing. About one in 25 were black.

Then there are the dozens of encounters with deer and pronghorn. Amazingly I've never hit anything other than racoons, porcupines and a possum.

PlatapusRex

South East Pennsylvania... Summer evening few years ago. Audi R8V10 (gated manual). Evening cruise through Bucks County. Deer darts out from behind a hedgerow and destroys the front end, windshield and part of the roof of the car just as the odometer ticks past first 1,000 miles. Total damages, over $14k which is cheap by comparison to what it would have been in a Ferrari...

A week later I am riding my brand new Harley on the same road, around the same time... Another deer jumps out and I nearly collide with it. Fortunately I did not lose control of the Harley. I had to pull over and reflect on that one...

Didn't stop me from doing evening cruises but these days I am in a Wrangler Rubicon with a steel bumper package... Not concerned at all about the kamikaze deer.

I have a 992 coupe on order, that will make me a bit tense again on those summer evening cruises...

definitelynotken

Always.

I'm usually around the Malibu and Beverly Hills area at around 2 am. I try to stay away from country roads since I don't feel like being punted into next week by a drunk driver in a F 350.

slc4s

2am on sunset blvd is every bit as dangerous if not more than a country road. I worry way more about drivers coming out of the LA party scene vs drunks in trucks. For reference I've lived in both rural UT and in LA for lots of years.

Kurac

With my contacts or glasses, my 44yr old eyes work fine at night. My first deer encounter was last fall in my Stage 1 S3. Cresting a hill in the country on the way home from taking clients out to dinner. The deer was right THERE after cresting the hill. $12K
+ in damage. It was a sad few days after that. I’d absolutely hate that to happen in my first 6 figure car.

mferris

3 month old 992 @ 10pm doing 30 mph on dark country road - pothole jumped at me and scared the crap out if my 50 yo eyes. A new tire, buffed scratched wheel and alignment for good measure since it was only 3 months old and I am now nervous about any night driving.

definitelynotken

Oh I definitely agree. My last accident was in rural California with a drunk student in a lifted F 150. Just haven't worked up the courage to go back out there ha, ha

kaylie

I went joyriding at night. This is what happened:

Carcam

What happened? Don’t see any deer skid marks🤣