The problem is that cars these days are so quiet. Forget about trying to see deer at night. Mother nature has designed them to blend into their environment. The key is to assure they hear you coming so they’ll get the hell out of the way. Get some kick ass speakers installed, complete with mega bass, get a few rap c.d.'s, and throw open those windows…
What? You say it’s cold in Montana? Well, okay, take a sledge hammer to the muffler. I mean, how many times have you read about a Harley hitting a deer?
And I’d do it quick because:
“Webb said there are more vehicle collisions with deer on the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation during autumn, sometimes averaging one a day. The worst time is mid-October through the end of November, he stated, but more caution is needed from October through December.”
I find that hard to believe. I would think that glow-in-the-dark radioactive deer would be rather easy to spot at night and thus easily avoidable. Perhaps the radiation leakage during that part of the year is lower, thus the deer glow less and are harder to see.
…yes, I agree in theory, BUT in practice, those damn insurance co’s see things a little differently. It all comes down to odds.
I worked in the inbound quotes of a large ins.co. (people would send us applications for car insurance). My job was to give these apps a risk rating. I had very specific guidelines to follow in giving “points” for different things: 13 points or more and the person would be declined by our company. An “at-fault” accident got 4 points. The first “not-at-fault, NAF” got no points, but each additional one got 3 points, almost as bad as an “at-fault”.
WHY? Because drivers that have more than one NAF, will tend to have additional NAF accidents (comprehensive claims were similarly rated), and were therefore a bigger risk to insure, as they cost the company $$$. [Mind you, stupid things were rated as well: renting your house/parking in the street/having risky jobs, like firemen/having lower-income jobs, like clerks/driving more than 10 miles to work–all of these were a point each.]
(PLEASE note that I am NOT saying YOU were guilty of any of these, Jodi, I’m just talking stats, and whatever odds the underwriters come up with) Drivers who have several NAF’s have them for various reasons—not paying attention, not driving defensively, poor reaction time, distractions (kids in the car, eating/smoking while driving, playing with radio, cell phones, etc.), or that they are just a shitty driver.