"DerbyDad03" wrote in message

stuff snipped

Two lane country road, just after sundown. I was doing about 50, towing a
trailer. I saw the
buck come out of the woods on the left, maybe a quarter mile ahead and hit
the brakes
as safely as I could, looking out for the doe. Yep, here she comes, I'm
still OK. Anymore?
Yes! There's a young one. Braking harder now, keeping it straight, still
OK...keep going kid,
keep going. Oh Crap!

Just as the babe was clear of my van and on the right hand shoulder, she
decided to turn
around and go back. Anti-locks chattering, trailer pushing me forward.
Caught her with the
driver's headlight. She had cleared the van once going left to right and
almost cleared it
again going right to left. Almost.

The suicide gene at work! I seriously wonder what she was thinking with the
danger already behind her to turn back? Fear of the open highway?

My van was drivable, so I got back in, called 911 just to let them know
what happened
and where. They took my info and I continued on my way. $2,500 worth of
damage.

Ouch! They can really rack up the bonus bucks on their way to Planet Deer
Heaven. Sunroof Deer cost almost as much. Your incident reminds me very
much of the time when I saw a recap break off a truck rim several hundred
yards ahead. I tracked it, watched it bounce - was sure to avoid it when
another car hit the tread shred two lanes away and rammed it right into me.

I guess the lesson is to just pull over and stop but all the racing driver
interviews I hear say it's better to steer out of trouble than brake out of
it. I think it really depends on the trouble. That deer family was out to
get you, I have no doubt!

I wonder if eventually deer will no longer be famous as being frozen in
headlights because all the deer that *did* freeze in headlights got hit and
failed to procreate? Surely you've enter a vote in the "don't turn around
suddenly" gene pool.

But the deer have earned that reputation. Unlike lemmings and the shock of
Disney's film makers faking the suicide deaths of all those little critters.
Methinks they got a bad rap. Not so with the deer. My FIL had a prized
garden ravished by deer who managed to get through the fencing and meshwork
to do their evil deeds. He hated them until the day he died for taking a
single bite out of every vegetable, ruining the entire crop.

--
Bobby G.