Lawrence Grodsky, a nationally known motorcycle safety expert and author who taught thousands of riders to handle themselves on the roads,
www.post-gazette.com
I think he hit a deer or the deer hit him at 9 pm in April in Texas. I very very seldom...once a year...ride at night. And am very careful at dusk or dawn.
When I was in the state patrol, I "volunteered" to be on this committee and I had to leave Spokane at Oh dark thirty to get to the meeting. On I 90, a huge buck leaped right in front of my 3/4 ton Chevy Suburban. I can still see the collision in my mind. The buck went right under the vehicle, after breaking the grill. That was the only damage to the Suburban....I dont even drive my cars at night unless I have to and I am very careful. There have been times in Montana that I mentally through my hands in the air and asked, "What the heck are you doing out here?" and found a truck stop till daylight.
Anyone who rides a bike at night in deer country at highway speeds is taking a chance. If they are willing to live with the results, that is fine. If they whine, suck it up, butter cup.
Research by AAA released Monday found that seven of the eight people who died in crashes involving deer over a three-year period in Maryland and Virginia were motorcyclists. Nationwide, the auto club said, about 70 percent of deer-crash fatalities involve motorcycles.
Did Grodsky do everything right? We will never know. My wife has had 4 car/deer collisons as she drives the speed limit at night. I have never hit a deer or have had a deer hit me on a bike or in one of my cars. Only the patrol vehicle. A big part of that is chance as it is dark 16 hours a day here in the winter. And you have to be on red alert riding or driving in deer country when they are out. I would say that over 54 years of biking/driving, I have had only a handful of sort of close calls with deer during the day....they are out there.
advrider.com