Got Deer?

Posted by jerry as crashed car, dead deer

So, I haven’t updated the site in forever and a day.  Being acquired and trying to hammer out a new position in the buying company takes its toll.  After a particularly bad day on Wednesday, I was on my way to the gym at the office at 5 a.m. on Thursday, and wham - a deer hops out into the street, past the van in the lane next to me, and I have no time to react.  The first time I see it, it’s 20 feet in front my my car, and I’m doing between 55 and 60 mph.

Well, here is the result:

So, it was a pretty scary thing.  After I hit it, my car wanted to head into the left lane, where there were some other cars.  I had to fight back and basically stood on the brake.  I pulled onto the shoulder which was mostly dirt, and my anti-lock was going crazy.  I thought it was going to take forever to stop, really pissed that it was taking so long.  I just wanted to stop - I didn’t know what all was wrong with the car.  When I got out, I realized that I had gone all of about 20 feet past where the deer was laying.  It had been knocked back to the median from where I hit it in the left lane.

The week before, I had just replaced the tires on this car.  I ended up spending a LOT more than I planned - I got the Goodyear Eagle Responsedge.  I was planning on spending about $500, and walked out $1100 lighter.  I had decided to drive it the few miles home, rather than wait for a tow truck.  That was fun.  The car really didn’t want to go.  When I got home, I noticed that the back passenger tire was mostly flat.  Sheesh.

So, to summarize:

• Hitting a deer sucks
• People who don’t stop to see if you’re ok after hitting a deer right in front of them, suck
• Acura TL is a great car
• Allstate insurance has been extremely cooperative and helpful, so far.
• I’m estimating the repair bill will be about $9000, and will take 3 weeks.  We will see how I do.
• The Cobb County Police Officer that took my report was a great guy.