Hitting two deer and narrowly missing many, many more in my years of driving in deer country has made me tense while driving between dusk and dawn. I find that I am able to relax somewhat when I can follow behind a big truck at a reasonable distance. I seem to have convinced myself subconsciously that I have a smaller chance being in a deer-related accident this way than if I was driving with no ‘sweeper vehicle’. I’m not tailgating; I’m at least two or three seconds behind, no closer than I would be in daylight.
Here is my rationale, such as it is:
The truck (or any other vehicle in front of me) is lighting up the road farther ahead than my own headlights can reach, and I benefit from this because I can see ahead into the ditches better than I could without the truck there.
The truck is sweeping the road immediately ahead of me of deer; any deer that are going to hit me will have to dart in from the sides in the two or three seconds between the truck passing and my arriving. Naturally, if I followed closer I would narrow this window of opportunity, but at the price of less reaction time if the truck brakes. Now, of the two deer I’ve hit, one was standing in the middle of the road as I came around a blind corner, and the other darted in from the side, so clearly this doesn’t reduce my risk to zero.
If the truck has to slam on the brakes (like because it hit a deer), I will be able to slow down faster than the truck will; overall I will be less likely to hit the truck than I would be to hit a deer driving ‘solo’. If it hits something, the truck’s greater mass will tend to keep it moving as opposed to following, say, a Kia, which might be stopped dead by a collision. Driving behind the semi is somewhat less of an annoyance to the truck driver than driving behind a passenger vehicle would be.
Perhaps the greater noise and visual impact of an oncoming truck serves to persuade deer to step back into the woods, rather than crossing the road - at least more so than an oncoming minivan.
So, is this a bogus rationalization or not? Am I less likely to be in a deer-related car crash if I am following a semi at a normal distance than if I am either following a passenger vehicle or no vehicle at all?
Safety following close behind a semi is a fallacy. I’ve had an erratic deer almost run onto the road between me and a semi trailer during rut after hitting one 15 minutes earlier. We were going slow on a highway and it ran up to the rear corner of the semitrailer and jumped left to the shoulder as it continued to zig zag along the highway ditch interface while being chased. I’ve also seen them jump under a semi trailer and get run over by the rear wheels and flung up onto a close following vehicle’s hood and grill. Don’t tailgate as you will rear end the semitrailer, which is worse than hitting the deer that weighs 150 pounds. You lose much of your visual warning ahead of you where you have the chance to spot the deer if you follow a semi.
I don’t really see any fault in your logic, as long as you realize you are still at a non-zero chance and keep your eyes open. I use oncoming traffic’s headlights to check the ditches and such while they are a looong way off yet. I have never hit a deer, an opossum, yes, but that was in town in a well lit area with lots of traffic. I didn’t have any way to avoid it even though I saw it well in advance.
I’ve used this technique for many years and have never had a deer come between me and a semi. Many a truck has hit one but once they go by, the deer seem intimidated by them. I would say it reduces your changes of a deer strike by quite a bit.
Something else that helps is to take highways over the back roads because there is usually a large gap between the road and trees. It doesn’t mean there aren’t deer but you have a better chance of seeing them if they are in the open. I’ve taken to watching the shadows as I drive at night and it’s amazing how many deer you can see if you just look.
Driving close behind a semi to avoid deer is not a complete fallacy. Sure, they can (and have) dart in between the two vehicles, hitting you, but…that semi, if it hits a deer…the deer is assploded. Ever seen the remains of a deer hit by a semi? Semi wins in a shutout.
One thing I do sometimes at night when there are two lanes is hang off someone’s left rear, with my headlights just reaching their car. That way, I can see twice as far ahead because I can use lights and theirs.
I do think your technique probably decreases risk a bit, but the one deer-related accident I was in occurred when the deer ran into the side of our truck, not in front of it. Stupid deer.
Yep. The one and only I’ve hit while driving ran into the side of my truck. IOW, it ran into me; I didn’t run into it. Having a semi in front would not have changed things much, if at all.
I agree with the OP that all else equal, you’re reducing your risk at least a bit. But how often can yuo find a convenient semi on your backwoods road?