I’m probably wrong (I have no cite), but it’s my understanding that their instincts make them freeze - “if I don’t move the monster can’t see me”. That’s why the noise and lights don’t make them run away.
My state, Indiana, doesn’t have (for the most part) huge expanses of forest. Most of the rural part of the state is farm land interspersed with patches of woods, all crisscrossed with roads. This leads to (in my observation) an inordinate amount of roadkill as critters attempt to cross from one patch of woods to another. Almost everyone I know has at least one deer strike or close call. I’m fortunate, I’ve never hit one but have had a few close calls. I knew a guy that had several deer collisions, ON A MOTORCYCLE! I guess I’m trying to say I can relate! Sorry for the deer but at least it sounds like a clean kill. Glad it didn’t cause any harm to you or the family.
Thanks for the good wishes, everyone.
The flatbed tow-truck got us and the car back home. Dropped the car off at the dealer’s auto body and then dropped us at our house.
Three pissed-off cats who went through all the food we set out for them have been fed and grudgingly re-admitted us to fealty with Their Feline Supremes.
Pizza has arrived, Cub is watching Star Wars, Mrs P is bundled up with hot tea, and I’m sitting by the fire with hot chocolate and looking at the Christmas tree.
All’s well.
We reported the accident to the Mounties, so I assume they’ll let Highways know about it.
That’s what the vengeful deer herd wants you to think.
Good luck, and if we don’t hear from you again, it has been a pleasure reading your posts on the SDMB.
That’s funny, I think I hear something outside. I’ll go check.
…and he was never seen again.
Did you order venison as a topping?
Slight hijack: my Feline Supremes are getting used to their new cat tree, which Santa brought.
You didn’t take the carcass home? Venison patties for breakfast!
Glad you are okay. Deer collisions can turn ugly. A deer’s natural defense mechanism of standing stock still is not anyone’s friend on a dark highway.
(Notwithstanding the fact that I am from Texas, I have only ever killed one deer–in Virginia, with the family’s early-80s-vintage Caprice Classic. Barely damaged the car.)
Even better, having Dad stop to carve up the carcass would’ve been a wonderful holiday memory for Junior. :eek:
Didn’t Celine Dion record “One Less Deer In Saskatchewan”?
Tony and I got clipped by yet another deer a few nights ago on a country road* - little scratch on the rear driver’s side of the truck, the yearling buck was last seen galloping into the woods. That’s 3 in the Suburban, and one in the old truck, and if you must hit a deer at near-highway speeds? I recommend driving a full-size GM truck. Tony has hit 3 with patrol cars, and Crown Victorias don’t do as well. But the worst damage I ever did in an animal collision? Buick Century versus armadillo at 55mph. Did ugly things to the underside of my car! (Poor dumb critter was the same color as the pavement, it was very dark, and no opportunity to brake at all. The mechanic found bits of his carapace in the unlikeliest places!)
*We were on the same lonely stretch of road on Christmas Eve night, having taken the girls out to see a big light display, and stopped to assist a family that hit a deer in nearly the same spot. A Ford Flex doesn’t handle the impact nearly as well as a pickup. Fortunately, everyone was okay, but the vehicle was totaled.
.
But the animal you really don’t want to run into around here? A hog. One of the deputies hit an escaped sow recently - about 500 pounds of mass all concentrated at bumper level. There were pork chops and hog jowls everywhere.
Sorry to hear of your mishap, NoPi, but very glad it turned out as well as it did for your family. As much as I’ve driven through rural Ohio over the years, I’ve never hit a deer, fortunately, although I’ve often seen them lurking off in the shadows by the side of the road.
And don’t even get me started on the majestik møøse…
My father once hit a deer with a GM pickup, in the mid-70s. To the best of my memory (I was maybe five or six at the time, was in the pickup at the time), no damage to humans or vehicle.
The deer wound up in our freezer, then on our table. 
This is the guy I feel sorriest for. I’m betting he did not sign on to clean spoiling armadillo bits out of car chassis(es?).
:eek: :eek: :eek: <– On the true stories recounted in that link.
An update: SGI (the provincial auto insurance) did a good job.
After dropping off the car, I kept hearing from friends and family about how hitting a deer often totals the car. But, they inspected it and said it was fixable. I credit Mrs Piper, again: a glancing blow to a deer can apparently twist the frame, leading to a write-off, but hitting it full on didn’t damage the frame. Nerves of steel, she has!
SGI paid for the tow, because they realised it made sense to bring it home for fixing, rather than leave it 200 km away at SIL’s place and leave me to try to arrange things long-distance.
Also, they waived the deductible: apparently deer are Acts of God, so they paid the full cost.
And, our additional package policy paid for a rental for the entire time it was out of commission.
So, still regret the death of the deer, but we came out okay.
One of my friends had a co-worker who hit a moose. He wasn’t hurt, but the moose came straight through the windscreen and landed right on him. The weight of the moose pinned him completely.
Then, as the moose was dying, it … evacuated itself.
On him.
So he’s pinned there in the wrecked car, with a dead moose on top of him, covered in loose moose dung, waiting for the Mounties to come. :eek:
Our little deer episode seems much less worrisome.
A key life lesson: Things can always get worse.