Rural Living #1
Well, Norm has finally lost his deer collision virginity. Over the years, the stories have been told. By both friends and family. And yet Norm has always brushed them-off. How can one not avoid hitting such a large animal? Well, it's easy to say now. They're fucking fast and they run in a straight line. Read on.
Driving home from helping a family member, Norm had just reached cruising speed on a dark, quiet highway. The last rays of daylight were fading, as the sun slipped below the treeline. Norm's old pick-up made the familiar roar as he pushed her up to a modest 50 m.p.h. His thoughts settled back into a gentle and even mood, as he reveled in the satisfaction of a job well done. No sooner had he begun to relax, when a large doe came springing out of the woods, across the empty oncoming lane, and directly down onto the front of Norm's vehicle. It moved like a hyper bunny, and crossed the road in a silent, but unavoidable 3 seconds. The direct impact of the ordeal produced the only audible sound of the event, with a combination low thud bump and high, tinny "chink" as the beast broke every bulb and reflector in the headlight assembly. It was a direct hit, and the deer went airborne, only to become visually lost in the ditch. Looking out the passenger window, Norm could see the animal was dead.
posted by norm at 7:22 PM
9 Comments:
Sorry to hear about that, Norm. My mom lives in an area where deer are always suddenly darting into traffic, too. I imagine I'd be fairly traumatized if I hit one. So far, my "virginity" remains intact.
Norm had a tough time driving the first couple of days after the incident, but is doing better. Thanks, LA!!
Norm, that sucks . . .
Knock on wood I stay deer free. I have hit several skunks, one porcupine and even a random opossum. And I feel so sad when I do!
Norm - Years ago, my brother's best friend suffered a bad breakup and was moving home after living out of state with the ex. Somewhere in the middle of the country late at night, he hit a cow (killing it). Not only did he feel like crap about it, but the cow did some serious damage to his car. He had to stay in the small town he was in until his car got fixed, and every time he went to the local diner to eat, everyone in town, recognizing he was a stranger, said, "oh, you must be the guy who hit the cow."
This story makes me sad. I was hoping you were going to say the only damage was to the car. I remember driving back to LA by myself once and turning a blind corner on the freeway near Santa Barbara to find myself face to face with a deer. I don't know which of us had the deer in the headlights look worse, but thankfully, he stood still and let me change lanes avoiding a collision.
what do you do when this happens? do you stop and try to help it or is that dangerous? do you have to report it or something? i wouldn't even know what to do!
Diane, it did. They totaled the vehicle, and of course the payment is far less than what it would be to replace the vehicle. But Norm is exploring his options.
Mish, it is sad. But Norm had no way of avoiding the animal. And fortunately it was not a moose.
LA, the newspaper reports about two deer accidents a week. Norm has yet to read a cow story. (He must have been embarrassed!!)
Kook, it's good when they stand still!! Norm had no options.
Kitty, you would never try and help it under any conditions! Most deer, if only slightly injured are back into the woods. If it is injured and can't move, local animal control will put the beast down. Many times deer just get a little bump and move on.
I'm sorry to hear of your encounter. It never crossed my mind that I would ever see a deer crossing the road directly ahead of my vehicle anywhere in Southern California, but I actually had a near miss. One early morning driving through Brea Canyon pulling my trailer headed for the Mojave Desert, my son and I were scared out of our wits when a deer crossed the road about 50' ahead of us.
Post a Comment
<< Home