Shirley, you crack me right the hell up. Outstanding.
Awesome! I WANT TINY DEER!
Really? Do you think he lost control because of hitting the cow or because he braked to try to avoid it? I just can’t believe 80,000+ lbs wouldn’t stand up to a deer??
The front part of the truck might not, and that’s where the driver sits.
Actually, no. The tractor is mostly fiberglass, most of the rest of the truck is aluminum. Neither stands up well in a collision.
I hit a deer that tried to pass me 4 weeks ago (glancing blow - just kinda knocked the her down - she got up and ran away to come and scare another day …), did $3250.00 damage to the truck, not including 4 hours of down time waiting for someone to come out and pull the bumper out of my right front tire and install a new tire so I could drive the truck. (Wow - do I do run-on sentences well or what?)
The other problem with big trucks is that when the front of the truck slows down faster than the trailer, the thing tends to bend in the middle (jack-knife) and it’s damn near impossible to regain control once that happens.
Lucy
On reading this again, I feel a real need to elaborate …
Simply ‘braking hard’ seldom will cause a Driver to lose control of the truck (exception - ice or snow), however, if you hit something while braking hard the laws of physics trump any experience or talent the driver may have. The 51,000 lbs of cargo that was following you now tries to pass you.
All too frequently, that cargo ends up crushing the driver. Not a pleasant scene.
Trust me on that one …
Lucy
My brother used to have these on his truck. That is, until he hit a deer and it knocked them off.
I saw two road kill deer today.
Those of you who hit one, was it at dusk, night or full daylight? I’m gonna have to watch my ass. 
Down here in Georgia, you see them most often at dusk or at night. I’ve seen them in heavily wooded suburbs of Atlanta, where you’d think there’d be too many people for them to be comfortable. There’s even an organization of bowhunters to manage deer in these areas.
I hit a deer in August. I was doing 100 KM/H when he hit the drivers front fender. He then flipped around and smashed in the drivers door. I had to crawl out throught the passanger side door until it was fixed. about $3800 damage.
Yes, yes it did, all down the driver’s side of the car.
Deer whistles? Don’t be silly. Deers can’t carry a tune.
Sorry for the double post, but I had to tell my own deer experience story.
Years ago, Hallboy was about three years old or so, and the Hallgirls, Hallboy and I were coming back from my mom’s house, driving up 83. Hallboy was in the back seat with Hallgirl 2, signing and chatting like 3 year olds can do.
Right before we got to the Turnpike exit, there are huge hills on either side of the highway, and along side of the road are huge fences, probably 6 or 8 feet tall (presumable to keep the deer off the highway.) It was a bit before dusk and traffic was fairly light.
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, jumps a deer–over the fencing–into the highway, and into the path of a tractor trailer about 1/4 a mile in front of us. The deer bounces off the side of the tractor trailer, hits the concrete center median and, like a hocky puck, bounces past the car slightly behind the tractor trailer, hits the opposite concrete median (where the fencing was), then bounces back into the left hand lane. Two cars ahead of me managed to avoid it, as did I, but it was bizarre seeing the deer bouncing around I-83 like a hockey puck.
Not wanting Hallboy to see the gory mess on the highway, I didn’t say a word, but did look over into the passenger’s seat to Hallgirl1, whose eyes were the size of dinner plates. Glancing in my rearview mirror, Hallgirl2 was peeking from between the front seats. She’d obviously seen the entire thing as well, as her eyes were enormous and her mouth was hanging open. None of us said a word, and Hallboy sang Rafi in the backseat…
A good friend of mine lived outside of Daleville, Indiana. His kids found a dismembered deer in a field. A poacher (probably) had killed it, lopped off the head for the trophy, and left the rest of the carcass to rot in the field. My friend’s wife was furious, and to assuage her anger, the county sheriff put her on the list of citizens who can legally harvest roadkill deer. After a couple of late-night calls to carry home broken deer, gutting and butchering them 'til dawn in the garage, she lost interest. They ate a lot of venison that winter, though.
My brother, after hitting his second deer, met a friend at the Kwik-E-Mart. Seeing the friend’s battered pickup, he asked, and sure enough, he too had hit a deer. My brother asked, “Did you have those deer whistles on the truck?” He said, “Yes, but the deer tore the bumper off.”
The state DNR recommends blowing your horn at the deer, but I have no evidence that’s any better.
I’ve tried blowing the horn, it works when they’re standing there with the “deer in the headlights” look. Revving the engine works too, but I’ve got a loud exhaust. Hopefully that will give them some fear of the road and/or cars.