Swerve for dogs on the road?

[jamor]

We are not going to die with me going straight ahead.

Google "deer through windshield" without strict filtering and you'll see what happens when you hit a deer head on.

It'll crush you or your passenger like an ant.

 

[mpw]

I know my car... it handles taking a deer head on MUCH better than it handles a telephone pole or flipping multiple times...

Once you hit the deer, can you be sure you're not going to lose control of the car and still hit the telephone pole and flip the car?

 

[_J.J._]

Once you hit the deer, can you be sure you're not going to lose control of the car and still hit the telephone pole and flip the car?

the only way that would happen is if he were to swerve and clip the deer, veering into a pole. you may slowly drift into a ditch after the collision, but you aren't still going 60 mph by any stretch of the imagination

I like his approach.... vehicles offer protection in straight on collissions. on rear end collisions, even side collisions.... they offer significantly less protection if you are in a rollover.

A deer 'gives'
A telephone pole does not have as much 'give'

rear-ending another car... it gives by being pushed forward. There are no crumple zone protections when you rollover.

Jerk or not, mcat has a point. I am willing to bet, given all the risks involved, my family would rather me take out Bambi and let insurance fix the vehicle, rather than, trying to save it, end up in a rollover, possibly killing myself and anyone in the vehicle with me. I'm arguably more value to them alive or not in coma

I argue, we all lose a degree of control whenever an animal jumps out in front of us.... I just have a plan of action that minimizes the amount of control I lose. This isn't a video game, it isn't worth the high five from friends the 1 time you don't lose control, for the increased possibility of sticking it in a wall.


It's also like when someone changes lanes into you.... I will let them hit me and let their insurance fix it rather than be "pushed" onto the shoulder of the road trying to avoid a minor accident. it's a good way to turn a minor inconvenience into a life altering decision.

 

[byteware]

the only way that would happen is if he were to swerve and clip the deer, veering into a pole. you may slowly drift into a ditch after the collision, but you aren't still going 60 mph by any stretch of the imagination

I like his approach.... vehicles offer protection in straight on collissions. on rear end collisions, even side collisions.... they offer significantly less protection if you are in a rollover.

A deer 'gives'
A telephone pole does not have as much 'give'

Do you know what else gives? Windshields and you.

If a deer comes through your windshield, all your theories become moot points. If you are doing 55 and a deer comes through your windshield... let's just say that even if you half that by breaking and windshield resistance, getting hit by a deer at 27.5 mph is more than likely to kill you.

 

[_J.J._]

still less chance of that than you losing control on the shoulder of the road at 60.

 

[tommy_ed]

It's not so much swerving to save the animal. Sometimes it's safer to slightly veer around something than just slam into it. And as for the arguments of "if I just hit it, I won't rollover", etc. I have this to share:

One of my friends in high school had a completely restored '71 chevy nova fastback. He was doing about 55-60 on a back road. He came up over a hill and there was a deer right in the middle of the road. He slammed the brakes (didn't swerve). Woke up upside down in the middle of a cornfield about an hour later. His car rolled 3 times. And yes, I know he probably would have rolled either way in this particular situation, but it does does disprove the said theory.

You shouldn't always just slam the brakes. You also shouldn't always swerve. You should do whichever is more appropriate for the situation. If I see a raccoon towards the edge of the road, I'm going to go slightly into the left lane and go around it. If I see deer crossing the road in front of me, I'll hit the brakes. Neither argument wins. Trust me, I grew up on the backroads. I've avoided many animals over the years and have yet to wreck because of one. **knocks on wood***

 

[Stang70Fastback]

It's also like when someone changes lanes into you.... I will let them hit me and let their insurance fix it rather than be "pushed" onto the shoulder of the road trying to avoid a minor accident. it's a good way to turn a minor inconvenience into a life altering decision.

Typically when someone moves onto you, it is because you are in their blind spot. So, you are typically a half car length behind them. If you think continuing straight and letting their rear corner hit your front corner is the right course of action, you need to Google "pit maneuver."

"SWERVING" DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN A VIOLENT SWERVE. IF YOU ARE AFRAID TO SWERVE LIGHTLY IN YOUR VEHICLE, YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR LICENSE REVOKED.

 

[Palmetto Fellow]

About the best I can do for that dog would be to slam on the breaks.

Sorry Fido

 

[Tangent]

Typically when someone moves onto you, it is because you are in their blind spot. So, you are typically a half car length behind them. If you think continuing straight and letting their rear corner hit your front corner is the right course of action, you need to Google "pit maneuver."

"SWERVING" DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN A VIOLENT SWERVE. IF YOU ARE AFRAID TO SWERVE LIGHTLY IN YOUR VEHICLE, YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR LICENSE REVOKED.

I think we're fighting a losing battle here. Far too many people have happily accepted that only being able to control a car under ideal non-emergency conditions is enough. When anything out of the ordinary happens they panic and/or simply nail the brakes. Never mind that very often slamming the brakes is precisely the wrong response. It seems clear that "swerving" to them means "yanking the wheel hard in a random direction with no idea what to do next".

Either that or there's a spectacular failure of imagination here and people think that every emergency situation involves being on a two lane road with a ditch on one side, heavy oncoming traffic on the other, and telephone poles every 30 feet.

 

[Stang70Fastback]

I think we're fighting a losing battle here. Far too many people have happily accepted that only being able to control a car under ideal non-emergency conditions is enough. When anything out of the ordinary happens they panic and/or simply nail the brakes. Never mind that very often slamming the brakes is precisely the wrong response. It seems clear that "swerving" to them means "yanking the wheel hard in a random direction with no idea what to do next".

Either that or there's a spectacular failure of imagination here and people think that every emergency situation involves being on a two lane road with a ditch on one side, heavy oncoming traffic on the other, and telephone poles every 30 feet.

*sigh*

Unfortunately, this is why so many people suck at driving - particularly in this country where a driver's exam requires you to make a left turn, know where the hazard button is, and be able to back in a straight line. I want to say I'm done arguing here, but I'll probably keep it up just for the laughs... lol.

 

[mpw]

the only way that would happen is if he were to swerve and clip the deer, veering into a pole...

It's exactly this kind of closed-mindedness that makes a person a bad driver.

And if you really think that swerving to avoid an obstacle is beyond your car control capabilities I would suggest you think hard about whether you're safe being behind the wheel.

 

[zoiko]

Enough said.....

Oh and by the way my Android stickers on the back window made it My phone, well it was not so lucky.

I will tell my side of the story after you guys try and guess what option I chose ...

 

[SamsungVibrant]

I just can't do it, I can not swerve if I see an animal, especially a dog.

Actually when I see a dog loose running the streets I try my best to stop all traffic as long as it is safe.

I get so sad when I see an animal injured, breaks my heart.

I do wish owners would train their dogs more and be careful about loose gates. As long as your pet is trained to not run away, and only to use sidewalks and never enter a street, you shouldn't really have a problem. So sad anyway, please stop for pets if you can and make others aware their is a pet in the street. Call animal control if you must.

 

[mpw]

...I will tell my side of the story after you guys try and guess what option I chose ...

Well there's not much damage to the front, so I'll guess you went round something before rolling?

 

[Stang70Fastback]

I will tell my side of the story after you guys try and guess what option I chose ...

Looking at the damage to the hood and the roof, it looks an awful lot like you hit the deer head on, where it impacted the hood (and messed up the bumper) then bounced a bit and hit the top of the windshield... is that fur in the front license plate?

However, it also looks like you did a bit of off-roading - so it also looks like you could have gently rolled the car (since it's not THAT smashed up) and the crap in the front of your plate is dirt from wherever you ended up? TELL US!!!

 

[ekyle]

I will tell my side of the story after you guys try and guess what option I chose ...

Looking at the damage to the hood and the roof, it looks an awful lot like you hit the deer head on, where it impacted the hood (and messed up the bumper) then bounced a bit and hit the top of the windshield... is that fur in the front license plate?

However, it also looks like you did a bit of off-roading - so it also looks like you could have gently rolled the car (since it's not THAT smashed up) and the crap in the front of your plate is dirt from wherever you ended up? TELL US!!!

Yea, I'm going with a gentle roll on this one.

 

[ballisticn8]

I've never been a cat person so if I see a cat on the side of the road generally I will attempt to swerve to hit it, hey, they have nine lives right?!?

/sarcasm


I don't swerve, too many variables that come into play in that split decision you have before you yank the wheel. Oil or other liquids on the road, rain, dirt even, other people around you. If you have time to double check the road and the sides of the road to see if swerving is safe you have time to stop.

From the pics above I am going to say the car rolled. Damage to the sides, front, roof, back, and mirrors broken off.

 

[gallandof]

I don't swerve, too many variables that come into play in that split decision you have before you yank the wheel. Oil or other liquids on the road, rain, dirt even, other people around you. If you have time to double check the road and the sides of the road to see if swerving is safe you have time to stop.

again your assuming swerving meansyanking the wheel to one extreme. in most cases it doesnt, I have never yanked the wheel to one direction in normal driving conditions, anyone who thinks the only way yto avoid a dangerous situation is to slam the brakes, swerve to an extreme condition or hit it, really needs to go get their licsence revoked. there are plenty of unknown variable with hitting the animal as well. "oops i just ran over a cat but one of thier bones just punctered my tire and since its wet I swerved flipped, if only I slightly turned to the left and avoided the cat."

theres unknown variables in both situation the best bet is to judge the situation as it comes. im personally going to swerve if there is even the smallest chance of success. if I know 100% i wont be able to avoid an animal by swerving Ill try to avoid doing the most damage in hitting them.

 

[Vihzel]

From the pics above I am going to say the car rolled. Damage to the sides, front, roof, back, and mirrors broken off.

The doors look pristine though.

 

[ballisticn8]

^^ good point, but with the back bumper torn off maybe end over end instead of side to side somehow, I dunno...

Had a buddy of mine on a ride get clipped by a deer on his motorcycle.

 

[Stang70Fastback]

The doors look pristine though.

That's why I thought maybe he hit an animal and then maybe went off the road, doing the rest of the damage? The roof does look like a slight roll-over, and I guess it is possible to do so without damaging the doors...

 

[330D]

I ALMOST hit a black bear on my motorcycle once.

 

[byteware]

I ALMOST hit a black bear on my motorcycle once.

And put another way... One time... I almost died.

 

[X10iUser]

Being a dog owner my initial reaction is to say yes I would but there are just too many factors to take into consideration which might not allow for you to at the time.

 

[Stang70Fastback]

I don't mean to bump a dead thread, but I came across this on CNN today and it reminded me of our discussions:

CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News