Deer migration area not safe at any speed

[jwanderson88]

I've had my Rivian about a year and a half and it doesn't impress me much anymore. Tonight I was impressed. I had to go 22 miles to Walmart for some dog food. It was dark of course. My route went through one of the most notorious deer migration areas in the county. On the way back I saw a deer standing off the side of the road. I barely had time to think there were probably more. My car saw the deer standing in the road in front of me before I did. It sounded the collision warning and it might have applied the brakes. It was supposed to; I was too busy to notice. I swerved and that 3-1/2 ton hunk of metal went around that deer as slick as a hog sliding into a hog wallow. Now I know how all the deer along the road get hit. They weren't driving a Rivian. It makes me sick to see the carnage every day.

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[mczouav]

I installed 2 deer ultrasound whistles under the front bumper of our r1s. Not sure yet if it does something, but haven’t met Bambi yet in our deer dense area of western ny.

 

[jb0063]

I live in a deer heavy area, and it boggles my mind when I see boneheads doing 65-70 mph on dark back roads when the posted speed limit is 45-50. Even at the correct speeds, you gotta be vigilant and focused more on the road, than on getting wherever you're going 2 minutes faster.

 

[stormbreaker]

slick as a hog sliding into a hog wallow

What in the world does this mean? Hog = pig? And I didn't know they can slide. And what is a hog/pig wallow?

Sorry bud....CT here. lol

 

[Dark-Fx]

I live in a deer heavy area, and it boggles my mind when I see boneheads doing 65-70 mph on dark back roads when the posted speed limit is 45-50. Even at the correct speeds, you gotta be vigilant and focused more on the road,

Going slow isn't going to stop me from hitting a deer that jumps out directly in front of my vehicle from the woods. May as well drive faster.

 

[jwanderson88]

Stormbreaker, you need to watch more Green Acres. Take some dirt, lots of it. Add water. Add a hog, which is a large pig. Hog wallow. Hogs like mud because it's cool in the summer and it keeps the flies off. The mud around here is slippery.

It's true that you can't always avoid hitting deer. I had one hit me in my Ridgeline. It was running so fast there was nothing I could do. That situation is the exception. The front of the truck is so flat that it was probably just an inconvenience to the deer. It mashed the front in pretty bad.

 

[docwhiz]

I once had a bear nearly run into me. He was running across the road. I swerved just in time. Fortunately I was going at a relatively slow speed.
You have to be alert for wild animals.

 

[RivianRiverRat]

when there are no other vehicles around - I turn on the hazards, flash the high beams randomly, and honk the horn randomly

 

[jb0063]

Going slow isn't going to stop me from hitting a deer that jumps out directly in front of my vehicle from the woods. May as well drive faster.

If you don't believe in physics, sure drive as fast as you want.

 

[Dark-Fx]

If you don't believe in physics, sure drive as fast as you want.

For the record, I regularly drive in areas where there are deer, fast, and I have yet to hit one.


I'll update you tomorrow when this isn't true anymore.

 

[mikehmb]

I've never driven in a place with as much migrating wildlife as eastern Utah. One year, on our annual trip to White Canyon, we encountered a deer herd so large I thought I was hallucinating. Thousands of them - all snacking on grass along the rural 2-lane highway. It was wild. Slowed to 15mph to get past the half mile or so of venison.

The next trip, in the same area, we saw thousands of bunnies, snacking on grass. It was like nature was just messing with my head.

 

[jb0063]

For the record, I regularly drive in areas where there are deer, fast, and I have yet to hit one.


I'll update you tomorrow when this isn't true anymore.

My point is that IF you do hit a deer, driving unreasonably fast, the impact and damage will be greater. Also, what you should have said is: "I'll update you tomorrow when this is still true." (unless you're thinking you'll hit a deer tomorrow). If that's the case, remember F = ma (force equals mass times acceleration).

 

[Dark-Fx]

Also, what you should have said is: "I'll update you tomorrow when this is still true." (unless you're thinking you'll hit a deer tomorrow).

I feel like when people say "I've never X and therefore", then X happens soon, in a statistically significant matter.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I've never driven in a place with as much migrating wildlife as eastern Utah. One year, on our annual trip to White Canyon, we encountered a deer herd so large I thought I was hallucinating. Thousands of them - all snacking on grass along the rural 2-lane highway. It was wild. Slowed to 15mph to get past the half mile or so of venison.

The next trip, in the same area, we saw thousands of bunnies, snacking on grass. It was like nature was just messing with my head.

Pulling an overloaded uhaul trailer with my Cobalt, in the middle of the night, I encountered a herd of deer in Wisconsin all in the middle of the road. Somehow I managed to avoid hitting any of them. I'd fully accept hallucination as an explanation. Rabbits though? I've hit more of those with my bicycle than I've ever hit any other animal with any vehicle. They complain in a very unpleasant manner.

 

[mikehmb]

Pulling an overloaded uhaul trailer with my Cobalt, in the middle of the night, I encountered a herd of deer in Wisconsin all in the middle of the road. Somehow I managed to avoid hitting any of them. I'd fully accept hallucination as an explanation. Rabbits though? I've hit more of those with my bicycle than I've ever hit any other animal with any vehicle. They complain in a very unpleasant manner.

The following year - post-bunny - we hit a cloud of moths that effectively turned the front of the truck white and it was so thick I was concerned about fouling the radiator. Not in the same place as the bunny/deer incidents, but generally the same area.

The year after that - I swear I'm not making this up - we came across the great migration of crickets (this time in the Nevada desert). Billions of them. Little bastards are slick when turned into a paste by cars.

We were unsure what to expect the following year, as the hordes of wildlife continued to shrink. Bees? Paused the trip that year, but I'm sure it would have been bees.

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