mercman Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 Last year I sold my suburban home and moved to the country. There are literally thousands of deer in the area. On my way home every day, I pass fields full of them, with many herds having more than 30 in them. I am pretty sure that eventually ,and unfortunately I am going to hit one, as I have seen them crossing the highway on more than one occasion. My question is this. If I do hit one, what is the LEGAL thing to do. I have heard many opinions, and many stories of people getting ticketed for hit and run etc. , after leaving the scene. Although its a sad thing to kill an animal accidentally, I can't see how it can be considered a hit and run if there is no damage to the vehicule and no other vehicule is involved. I just want to make sure I do the right and LEGAL thing if and when it happens. Thanks ! Paul
akaShag Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 In ONTARIO, you must report the vehicle/deer collision to the MNR, who will take your name and the location of the accident. If you want to keep the road-killed deer, they will also give you the authority to do that. If your vehicle sustains more than "X" dollars worth of damage, it is my understanding that you must also report it to the police force having jurisdiction where the collision occurred. (THAT one I am not 100% about.) It appears that you live in Quebec, I suggest you contact your local office of the Ministere des Ressources Naturelles et de la Faune. (I may not have spelled all those words correctly) And you might consider the purchase of a "deer whistle" for your vehicle(s). I know a bunch of folks in Pennsylvania who use them and claim they are quite effective in alerting deer to your vehicle and they get out of the way. That would not help in a situation where a deer is being chased by coyotes or whatever, of course. HTH. Doug
lew Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 if there is no damage to the vehicule and no other vehicule is involved. If your unfortunate enough to hit a deer Paul, I think you can count on some significant damage to your car. My daughter was only doing about 70K when she hit a deer and did $7000 damage to her car. It dented the hood, both front fenders, cracked the windshield, banged in the roof then busted up the trunk lid.
highdrifter Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/FW/2ColumnSubPage/289999.html
Freshtrax Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 I live in the sticks and we put the deer whistles on all of our cars and they work no more deer sightings.
craigdritchie Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 Hit a deer at any speed and Lew is correct, you can't help but do major damage to your vehicle. At highway speed, you may write it off altogether (depends on the value of the vehicle, of course). I hit a small doe a few years ago on Hwy 6 just outside of Guelph ... over $8,000 damage to the front of my pickup (fender, hood, windshield, grille, radiator, battery, alternator, etc). The deer whistles are absolutely useless IMHO ... I had two mounted on the front bumper of the pickup when I hit Bambi. Best you can do is slow down and drive defensively.
mercman Posted February 25, 2014 Author Report Posted February 25, 2014 Thanks for the replies everyone ! There is one 16 km stretch of highway 139, from highway 10 to Cowansville , that is deadly. Narrow, dark and winding. I use my driving lights there all the time. I have counted 7 deer on the roadside this winter alone. I started honking my horn every few hundred meters, but will definitely look into deer whistles.
akaShag Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 I should have mentioned, when I am driving in early morning/late evening in the fall, I expect to see deer. When I drive through areas where there are trees close to the road, I slow down and keep an eye out for deer in the ditch. That has saved me quite a number of times from hitting deer. Doug
Roy Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 Scientific research suggests that deer whistles are useless. Look it up. Of course if they make you feel better, buy a bunch, knock yourself out.
SirCranksalot Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 Scientific research suggests that deer whistles are useless. Look it up. Of course if they make you feel better, buy a bunch, knock yourself out. Yeah, they say the same about snapping your fingers to keep elephants away but it has worked for me so far. Rather hit a deer than an elephant though!!
Big Cliff Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 OK, I am sorry but you are going about it all wrong! Drive down the road like you are trying to hit a deer! Now I speak from experience, I have been driving for over 50 years in some very highly deer populated areas. I have tried on a number of occasions to hit a deer or a turkey and the suckers always manage to get out of the way in time. This isn't a joke actually, almost all of the car "deer/turkey" collisions come when someone is trying to avoid the animal, the animal gets confused and reacts and the driver isn't prepaired or can't respond in time. If you aim for where the animal is, (unless it is in the ditch) it probably won't be there when you are.
mercman Posted February 25, 2014 Author Report Posted February 25, 2014 LOL !!!!!! Maybe i'll get a loudspeaker and play Metalica on this stretch of road.
Roy Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 LOL !!!!!! Maybe i'll get a loudspeaker and play Metalica on this stretch of road. That'll work. I wouldn't cross the road for Metalica either.
Raf Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 make sure you are not the 1st car in a train of cars is my policy. some of it will come from experience, lots of deer around where I am but I've seen enough of them now to know where they are likely to cross.
BillM Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 Paul, sounds like some auxiliary lighting might also pay for itself in the long run.
mercman Posted February 25, 2014 Author Report Posted February 25, 2014 Ya Bill..I installed separate driving lights about a month ago. They really help at night on this stretch of road. I try going slow, but the speed limit is 90kph and there is always some yahoo up my butt.
Freshtrax Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 (edited) Hey I like my deer whistles ok. Don't Bust my bubble. Maybe it's the manga flow on the truck they don't like. Either way I don't see them near as much as I used to . Edited February 25, 2014 by Freshtrax
Fisherman Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 Hey I like my deer whistles ok. Don't Bust my bubble. Maybe it's the manga flow on the truck they don't like. Either way I don't see them near as much as I used to . Let me tell you about deer whistles. When I was in Maitoba and put deer whistles on my truck, the deer paid attention and it seemed like they always wanted to race me and jump across the road. You could see them coming from miles away, lets race him. I got rid of the deer whistles and had no more problems. Just like bounce dryer sheets to keep mice out. Mice use irish spring to wash themselves, use dryer sheets to dry themselves and go bowling with moth balls.
Bernie Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 In my 12 mile drive to Nipissing it is common to count 60 deer in the early morning or evening. Most times it's not the one you see that will get you. Pay attention to the one that you can't see. Where there is one, there are usually more. I have so far avoided hitting one, must be my finely honed hunting skills .Seriously though, I have slowed my driving speeds down, often below the limit especially in the areas where they are more prevalent.
fishingwithbob Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 How do you train the deer to blow the whistles?
fishindevil Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 Had my truck for a week back in 2009 and hit a deer south of Lindsay and did $9,000 damage !!! And yes you must report it to police or you won't be able to do an insurance claim !!!! Cops came took pics and did a report seen the damage and the deer and called me a tow truck and gave me info to give to my insurance company pretty easy actually !!!!
ch312 Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 About 5-6 years ago a previous employer hit a button buck while travelling 60km/h or so in his GMC Sierra and there was literally zero damage to the truck and the deer had zero visible damage, even though it died instantly. Even after butchering the animal the only damage I found was a tennis ball sized bruise on the ribs directly over the heart where the trucks front tow hook hit the deer. I took the rest of the day off work to gut and hang that deer.
lookinforwalleye Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 Yeah, they say the same about snapping your fingers to keep elephants away but it has worked for me so far. Rather hit a deer than an elephant though!! Yep me too I have a couple elephant whistles on my jeep and I haven`t hit a elephant yet!!!
fishing n autograph Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 Yes you have to report a collision with a deer or other animal
akaShag Posted February 25, 2014 Report Posted February 25, 2014 It is worth reminding folks that most of us who have responded live in Ontario, but the OP apparently lives in la belle province. Having lived there four years myself, I can attest with confidence that the laws in many ways are different............. Doug
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