gerisullivan: (Default)
gerisullivan ([personal profile] gerisullivan) wrote2012-02-25 10:46 pm

Learning something new every day

AKA "I love my car, chapter the manyeth"

I'm fine. I'm bemused and bewildered to report that my car is fine, too. I can't speak for the deer.

I hit a deer, or rather, a deer moved into the side of my car as I was driving along Hwy 20 toward Sturbridge tonight. I saw the doe just before impact and had my foot on the brake pedal; I was probably going 40-45 mph at that point.

There was a loud bam-thud sound upon impact, but that and having seen the deer is the only evidence I can cite. I'll look again in daylight, but I've looked 4 times under various lights already and my car shows no sign whatsoever that it came into contact with anything, let alone an adult doe. There's no difference in how it drives or handles, either. Not that I could tell tonight, anyway.

I grew up in Michigan and lived in Minnesota for 25 years. The possibility of hitting a deer is never far from my mind. Before hitting one at interstate speed in November '97, I always thought the first thing I'd have to do was to regain control of the car. The surprise that time was that I never lost control. I loved my car then, too, and was ever so thankful that the destroyed windshield held together under the impact of the deer hitting full-body directly in front of my face. Still, there was no question that I'd hit a deer, and a couple thousand dollars worth of damage came with the experience.

I didn't lose control tonight, either. But it never occurred to me that my car could sustain that kind of collision without showing a single sign of it. Color me surprised...and grateful.

[identity profile] lauriemann.livejournal.com 2012-02-26 04:19 am (UTC)(link)
Glad it sounds like you and your car may not be the worse for wear after having the deer hit your car. It is rather amazing that, at times, a large animal can hit your car and it looks like nothing. A moose grazed my car in Vermont at night a few years ago, and it looked like about the only thing that happened to the car was a little moose drool.

[identity profile] maruad.livejournal.com 2012-02-26 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
It sounds like you were very lucky. I am glad you are fine and hope there is nothing wrong with your car in the morning.

[identity profile] athenaartemis.livejournal.com 2012-02-26 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
Glad you came out of it so lucky. My encounter with a deer last summer left me with a totaled car and an inability to drive at night for about six months - wish I had your luck, instead.

[identity profile] roadnotes.livejournal.com 2012-02-26 08:00 am (UTC)(link)
I'm glad that you are okay.
madfilkentist: Carl in Window (CarlWindow)

[personal profile] madfilkentist 2012-02-26 12:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, deer! I'm glad to hear you and your car came out undamaged. Hopefully the deer was also just badly scared.

[identity profile] lsanderson.livejournal.com 2012-02-26 01:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Good! May your car be fine too.

[identity profile] threeringedmoon.livejournal.com 2012-02-26 01:50 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm glad you're okay. We have to drive cautiously in our neighborhood due to mule deer, but we don't have the heavy coverage of vegetation that makes it impossible to see them like many areas.

[identity profile] benveniste.livejournal.com 2012-02-26 05:17 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm more worried about you than your car, but I'm glad both are okay.

[identity profile] minnehaha.livejournal.com 2012-02-26 05:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Damn! Everything worked out perfect, except for the deer.

K.

[identity profile] randy-byers.livejournal.com 2012-02-26 06:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Bless your blessed car!

[identity profile] dlacey.livejournal.com 2012-02-26 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm glad to hear you're okay and that the car came through unscathed.

[identity profile] bohemiancoast.livejournal.com 2012-02-27 09:08 am (UTC)(link)
So glad you're ok.
thinkum: (beauty in unexpected places)

[personal profile] thinkum 2012-02-27 04:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Boy, yesterday was just a tough day all over, wasn't it?

So glad that you and your car are okay!

[identity profile] smofbabe.livejournal.com 2012-02-28 09:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Glad you and the car emerged unscathed!