[Eepsy]

My driving instructor said to swerve to avoid deer if possible, because they can kill you if they come through the windshield. She did say anything smaller than a sheep was fair game, though.

[Eepsy]

Come to think of it, I was driving a New Beetle at the time, so maybe the rules are different for SUVs :)

[RebelBanker]

A deer's hooves or antlers through your windshield can kill you, but so can the telephone pole you hit swerving to avoid the deer. Also, deer are herd animals, so there are likely to be more around if you see one.

Swerving is about the worst thing you can do other than shouting "RAMMING SPEED" and flooring it. You are very likely to lose control and hit something else, quite possibly another deer. If you can, slow way down and carefully drive around them. If not, stand on the brake and try to minimize the impact.

[af_vet_rr]

My driving instructor said to swerve to avoid deer if possible, because they can kill you if they come through the windshield.

My best friend in high school was almost killed by a deer - it came through the windshield in the middle of the car, and about the only thing left outside of the car was its rear legs. The front portion of the deer was in the back seat (which looked like somebody had taken a bucket of red paint and just dumped it all over the place).

A few days later, I talked to the cop who got there first, and he told me he was sure he was dead when he saw him, because he wasn't moving and there was blood all over. He ended up with a broken shoulder, and a lot of stitches

I sometimes think people underestimate just how much deer weigh, or what hitting one at 45mph+ (especially if they are leaping/airborne and would therefore be above the hood) would be like.