As I was driving home to work on Whyville this evening, I was involved in a very terrifying event. A deer ran into the road and hit my car while I was driving.
I'm still quite shaken up, this happened about 2 hours ago (as I type this), but I thought it was important to write an article about it. I live in a very wooded and rural area, where you hear about something like this happening all the time. "Be careful driving home," "Watch out for deer", are common phrases to hear this time of the year. I never thought it would happen to me.
Here's what happened...a deer literally ran head-first, antlers blaring, into the passenger side of my car. It didn't jump out in front of me, or stand like a "deer in headlights" in the road. It didn't see my car, I guess because it is black, and ran into me, slid past my window and down the side. It smashed in the passenger headlight, right fender, and passenger door. I had to fight every urge in my body not to swerve into incoming traffic.
Luckily, I was only driving 35 miles per hour, and there was no one else involved. I was able to pull my car off to the side of the road. The deer was still alive, so I called the police and animal control.
There are 1.5 million crashes a year caused by deer. And 150 of them are fatal. (http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/11/14/deer_crash/index.html). As sad as I am about my car being damaged, and now having to pay a deductible to fix it, I am incredibly lucky. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but things could have been much worse. I'm okay, my car will eventually be okay, and my life will go on.
So, as many of you are getting your driver's licenses soon, please heed this advice, "Be careful driving home, and watch out for deer." Seriously, because it can happen to you too.
Thankful that I have car insurance,
AMae
