Deer In The Road

[Mr. Bloom]

Can deer not see well? Are they slow to process what they see?

For half of my last few rides, I've been blessed or cursed with deer in the road ahead of me.

I make noise to try to get them to move on.

The problem: They stand there and stare at me...do they see me from 75 feet away? 50 feet? 25 feet?

Unfortunately, they're often standing in the other lane...and I'm afraid a car will crest a hill and hit the deer right in front of me hurting the deer, the driver, or me

Are there special techniques to avoiding this?

[Veronica]

Get a bell.

[Eden]

A bit OT, as I have no idea how to actually deal with deer...

When I was in college I spent a quarter or two commuting to school by bike (in Rochester, NY, in the winter.... I think I was crazy....) One dark, icy morning the herd of deer that used to hang out at the golf course decided to cross the road just as I was coming by Scared the bejeezus out of me.

[limewave]

I've had some close calls with deer as well--especially the early morning rides. There's no one coming for miles and then they decide to jump into the road just as I ride up with my bike.

I've tried waving my hands and yelling too. No luck. There they stand until I'm a foot away.

By the way, the same is true with teenagers riding bikes. They slowly weave back and forth in the middle of the road or on the wrong side of the road. And when I'm five feet from them they veer directly into my path. Texting. They are TEXTING while riding their bikes. Without helments. On the wrong side of the road.

Sorry, OT. But I treat them as cautiously as I treat deer when I see them coming up.

[Veronica]

Teenagers have the same thought processes as deer.

V.

[cyclinnewbie]

Teenagers have the same thought processes as deer.

V.

Ohhhhhhhhhh this made me spit my Diet Dr. Pepper! lolololol

[PscyclePath]

Teenagers have the same thought processes as deer.

V.

Actually, the deer are probably a little smarter...

[chutch]

Yup, have to be careful with deer. A guy I know woke up in the middle of a road with a broken bike (and body). Had no idea what had happened to him. Luckily, it was a fairly well traveled road and help arrived quickly.

When one of the mechanics looked at his bike, he found fur/hair and concluded... a deer had jumped out either right on him or right in front of him.

[Kalidurga]

Based on experience with deer out in the woods, I've found that they're more likely to become startled and run off if you stop and stare at them. If you're moving, they're less likely to perceive you as a threat, so they just watch to see what you're going to do. When you stop, though, they realize that you see them and that's when they decide to get the heck out of dodge, as it were.

Squirrels, now, are the ones that I think are truly stupid. I ran over one with my bike once because it scampered to one side of the trail, then changed it's mind and decided that it wanted to go back to the other side just as I was passing it. I've begun watching them since then, and damned if that isn't typical of them. Rabbits are much smarter. They'll run alongside the trail parallel to you, then run away off to the side.

[7rider]

Can deer not see well? Are they slow to process what they see?

Now, don't take this the wrong way, because I love all animals.
But I think deer are just stupid.
Yeah, trains have swivelling lights in front to break the trance of the proverbial "Deer in the headlights" but I have yelled at deer, rung a bell at deer, and they still just stand there with a vacant look on their face. I really don't think they have much going on between the ears. They have 2 main thoughts that occupy their brain "Is this good to eat?" and "Makin' babies."

If you see a deer on the road, yell, ring a bell, and then slow down. It could turn and run right at you just as easily as turning and running away. And if one is running across the road, slow down, because there is likely a second (or third) one coming along right behind it.

Cute critters. But dumb as posts.