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Deer
As
demonstrated in the video
of the deer strike I posted the other day, deer can
be a danger to motorcyclists.
I think it is safe to say that in most areas you can
predict whether or not you will encounter a deer. For
example, if I was to take off for Big Bend National
Park, I’d have to go through areas I am know are
infested with deer.
What’s not predictable is what a deer will do.
Here’s a little we know…
Deer are timid. They like to hide. That’s why
they’re often not seen until it is too late.
Deer hang out along the side of roads. Why do they do
this? Well, there’s nice lush grass there. The highway
department has cut it… fertilized it… yummy yum yum
for a deer. Typically deer along the side of the road
are eating this lush grass… which means their heads
are down. That’s another reason why they are not
seen… you see them when their heads pop up, but with
their heads down, they're difficult to spot. And then
there's the fact that deer prefer to feed at night.
So we’ve got deer, along the side of the road, with
their heads down, at night. Nice, huh?
So how do you spot them?
According to my Proficient Motorcycling book written by
David Hough (where
much of the above has come), deer eyes reflect
light. How do you know it’s not a reflector? Deer eyes
blink. So if you see a reflector winking at you, it’s
probably a deer facing your direction!
To avoid a collision with a deer, the best thing to do
is what?
Swerving assumes you know which way the deer is going to
leap. You don’t.
Speeding up just increases the damage to you when you do
strike the deer.
Stop!
Deer don’t care about your horn, your loud pipe, your
“deer whistles”… deer react to proximity more so
than sight or sound. That’s why you may think a deer
on the side of the road isn’t going to do anything…
then as you get closer, it leaps forward! By this point
there is little you can do. The best thing for you to do
is practice stopping really quickly.
And, rest assured, Larry Grodsky knew more about riding
motorcycles than most of us. You can read his obituary
here: Lawrence
Grodsky / Top American expert on motorcycle safety.
This
link is the entire article from David Hough on deer.
It’s the same one that appears in my Proficient
Motorcycling book... the same one I referenced in
writing this post. Please read it and comment.
Be Safe! |
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