I hit a deer...

[oconeedan]

I am fairly new here, have only had my 07 RSTD a couple of months, and hit a deer Friday morning on the way to work. The bike is totaled.

I am lucky to have lived, but still have some bad injuries. Crushed left leg at knee is the main issue. Beat up all over.

 

I was on a rural highway, the road drops off steeply on both shoulders. A big doe ran from the left, the first time I could see her she had entered the left lane running to my right. I hit brakes hard but didn't have time to do much. I am not sure if I hit the deer with my knee, or if the bike hit her and I went down on my knee. I ended up on edge of road, bike went off road to right and then veered across the road and down into the ditch. I was doing about 60 mph when I made a solid hit.

I somehow had the sense to roll off the road. Somehow found my phone and called for help.

 

I was lucky that I was wearing leather chaps, leather jacket, and 3/4 helmet. All are trashed. I still got road rash on both arms, and left hand (glove knocked off).

When it's hot, I usually only wear my short sleeve shirt and always a helmet.

 

If I ride again, I will have to revisit that practice, and consider a light colored mesh jacket and pants. The leathers saved me from serious rash.

 

Right now i am in a splint, and pretty much crippled. Waiting on surgery next week to fix the leg, and then a pretty long recovery period. My wife has taken this like a champ, even asked if I was getting another Yamaha!!

 

I am a very experienced rider, it can happen to anyone. The purpose of this post, is to get you to reconsider wearing at least light jacket when it gets hot outside. I am glad I had mine on. No amount of gear will stop everything though.

 

By the way, Progressive Insurance has been good to work with, they are going to take care of me. I have short term disability insurance at work, thankfully.

Dan

[ricksbike]

Glad to hear you survived,even though I dislike reading stories like this,I live in N.Idaho and the deer population is terrible,I`ve always told everyone I hate deer,they are tasty though,good luck with your healing process.

[Yammer Dan]

Glad you are here to post it. Listen to the docs. Now comes the hard part. Don't try to rush things.

[Daitan]

Glad to hear that you are able to tell us about it. I too was just in a motorcycle accident with someone just as dumb as the deer. But they have deer whistles, called v120 hornet deer alert. There Canadian, and have been proven to work. Just an option without having to wear a suit of armor while riding.

 

Heres hoping for for a good recovery:amen::amen:

[slowrollwv]

Glad you are still with us. Take your time to recover and listen to the docs.

[Marcarl]

Glad you are still around to tell the story,, something we can all put in our pipe and smoke.

As I read your story, I noticed that you said you were hard on the brakes, and that you were doing 60mph when you hit,,, does that mean you were going faster than 60mph when you seen the deer?

[uncledj]

Glad to hear you made it through as well as you did.

When something like that comes outta' nowhere, there's not much you can do. Protective gear is the best defense.

I don't always wear a helmet or jacket, but know I should. I'm gonna have to work on that.

Hope the healing process is as quick and comfortable as possible. Take care.

[CaptainJoe]

Glad it's not any worse. Really Sucks to hit a deer, been there done that... kind of like deja vu when you talked about the steep drop offs and not seeing it till right on top of it.

Now, I use the electronic Hornet deer whistle, but, as deer are unpredictable (and humans), it's mesh gear, steel toes and a full face for me.

Heal fast and keep your spirits up.

Edited April 27, 2015 by CaptainJoe

[N3FOL]

Oconeedan, very very glad you survived the crash. I pray for your speedy recovery.

[videoarizona]

Dan...yep...glad to hear you are OK. I guess what "might" happen, with deer and humans is what scares me the most. Agreed on wearing the gear. I do all the time and it gets hot down here in Arizona! Wish I could ride with a shirt during those slightly warm days in the summer...but I've seen (and filmed) to many burn cases...and that's what road rash is...a 3rd degree burn. I know I don't want to deal with that!

Heal quick and keep your "patience jar" full and handy! You'll be back to riding soon!

david

[eagleeye]

I'm glad that you are not hurt any worse than you are. I'm sure that is bad enough, but you're still here and will heal up. Man, I hate deer, (as a biker) and here in the spring, I see more dead deer by the road than in the fall when they are in rut. That was an eye opener for me.

Good luck with your surgery and recovery.

[oconeedan]

Glad you are still around to tell the story,, something we can all put in our pipe and smoke.

As I read your story, I noticed that you said you were hard on the brakes, and that you were doing 60mph when you hit,,, does that mean you were going faster than 60mph when you seen the deer?

That is only an estimation...by the time I saw the deer and hit the brakes, I made impact only a few feet later. I haven't seen it, but was told the skid marks were only a few feet. I know I was a tad over 60 before it all started.

 

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and prayers.

Dan

[Zzyzx]

Glad you are still around to tell us about it.

A bike and its parts can be replace, People, not so much.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you while you go through surgery and the recovery process.

Get well and ride again.

[XV1100SE]

Wish you all the best and a speedy recovery.

[mrsteve]

I also have Progressive insurance and they replaced my helmet, boots, and Ray Ban sunglasses. (because that was the only safety gear that I was wearing) They repaired everything on my '05 RSV that was damaged when my front wheel locked up at 70 mph. I know you will heal, and ride again as I did and do but I will NEVER again ride without my new mesh jacket, full face helmet, leather gloves, leather boots and Kevlar pants. I live near Las Vegas and I will put up with the heat discomfort before I put up with the skin loss pain again.

Speedy recovery to you Dan.

Steve

[ragtop69gs]

OH DEER! That's not good Sorry to hear that. I was luck when I had a deer hit while out in Montana, I got the bike slowed down to 15 MPH before impact. Damage was a crunched fender, bent passing lamps and a loss of the passing lamp visor. we got lucky and didnn't go down even though I was 2 up pulling a fairly heavy trailer.

 

I hope both you and the bike heal fast.