to hit animals or not to hit animals that is the question

[mm75658]

so i was in my car and tired so my fiance was driving on i20 W at exit 92 in sc, on our way back to charlotte from myrtle beach, and a dog ran out in front of us, she was doing the speed limit (70) and we severed to miss it and after a few spins we were wrapped up in a cable barrier with the doors pinned closed by cables on each side, the cop/highway workers/tow truck driver said that how we got caught up was rather wierd, they ended up haveing to cut the cables to get the car out (we got out through the windows); so it was deemed her fault bc as the insurance company put it they are not telling us to hit the animal but dont swerve, and if we had hit the dog there would be no fault, but here is the thing it was not a small dog it was the size of a young/small deer/the head was where my windsheild wipers were on my 04 lancer ralliart so if we had hit it probaly would have gone through the front window or made us go airborne thus the situation could have been much worse, the 4 of us were completely fine(my little bro and his friend were in the backseat) just my car was totaled and what wasnt messed up on it the tow truck driver made sure he trashed while trying to get it out of the cables, and the other thing that got me was that the air bags never deployed... but back to the question what are yalls thoughts on whether one should hit animals in the road and if the insurance should count you at fault for swerveing, even if you have witnesses saying that there was a dog so that the insurance company knows that ur not bsing them

[Revere2]

In the 1970's Red Foxx (Fred G. Sanford of Sanford and Son comedy) said........."I ain't wreckin' my 25 thousand dollar car for a 25 cent cat. I agree with that totally.

Flipside. I knew a guy that hit a horse  (horse was broad side in the road) in a 1970 GTO convertible. Of course the horse having all his legs broken out from under him came over the hood and into the car. Passenger killed, driver had his mouth wired for over a year and had to drink all meals. Car and horse destroyed. His Dad, being wealthy, got him another GTO convertible. Driver lost probably 30 pounds and had deep facial scaring forever.

[Revere2]

continued.................

YES. It is ok to hit an animal in the road if you think your vehicle can "take it". BUT................."women" are NOT inclined to do this. They will wreck a McLaren to avoid hitting a damn squirrel. THAT is only ONE of the reasons that they should NEVER be allowed to hold high office ever or to go into battle. I know they can squeeze a trigger just as good as a guy but they do NOT think like us and are way too
emotional and it gets in the way of doing business as it should be done. And THAT is only one of the things going wrong with this country. Feminism is only one of the many tools of the Elitists.

[DoD#i]

In moose/car interactions, the car loses. In deer/car interactions, both lose. I know of several people being killed with deer coming through the windshield on a car - same could happen with a deer-sized dog.

Swerving _can_ be worse than hitting the animal, and swerving _while_ braking is an MSF no-no that applies to cars as well. There's only so much traction available - once you use it up, you lose control. Separate braking and swerving. If  you can miss the animal by swerving to an open area (but without losing control by trying to brake and swerve at the same time, or swerving beyond what available traction allows) that's better than hitting it. If you swerve into a solid obstacle, that's worse, obviously - so don't do that - hit the animal instead. If you can not quite miss it but can hit it other than head-on, it does less damage, usually. If you are going to hit it regardless, braking always helps by reducing the energy of the crash (and if you get rear-ended - well, they would probably rear end you after you hit the animal anyway, and it's automatically their fault for following too closely).

Given that this is a MC board, even though this was not an MC accident, I'll toss in that hitting a medium-small dog on a medium-large bike (BMW R/75) made a mess of my brother and his bike - so swerving to avoid is almost always the better policy on a bike (as well as being easier on a bike).

[Kasumi]

Biggest thing i ever ran over was a badger, ran over smaller such as rabbits and things like that. Badger was about the limit, it sent the front wheel right in the air, which came down with a massive wobble, further unsteaded by the back wheel being jolted over. Most important thing on the bike is avoid. IF you cant avoid then brake but if its a smaller animal and you think you might be able to go over it, just go streight cos the last thing you want is to hit it with the steering turned then you got no chance.

Like in the vid on youtube a bike ran right through a deer. Smashed his bike to pieces but he didnt fall off.

One of my friends hit a stag in the car however and the antlers came right through the windshield leaving him with a deep cut right down the side of his head at eye level. Lucky fucker!

[mm75658]

yeah i realize that this is a mc board but i figuared that it would be ok to post in the odds n ends section bc of all the gun posts and i was just looking for opinons and btw thank yall for your respones but do yall think about the insurance thing

[Kasumi]

Insurance is stupid, they will try and get out of everything. Your best bet is to get all the witnesses together and make a statement and EXPECT to have to take the insurance company to court and hope they will choose to settle out of court.

Put it this way, my grandma died very suddenly while my parents were just leaving to go on holiday (already paid for), they had to rush to her bedside and had to turn the life support off. After postmortem it was found she had died from bleeding from her bowel, she had seen the doctor a year previous and he had treated her and given her the all clear so it was completely unexpected. My parents claimed on their travel insurance for the holiday money back to put into the funeral. The insurance company turned down the claim twice saying that we shouldn't have gone on holiday if we thought she was ill. Basically we had to take them to court (they chose to settle outside) as if they were correct it would mean any one with an old relative couldn't ever go on holiday cos they might die or being old.

What im trying to say is an insurance company will do anything to avoid paying out. They will ALWAYS try if they can to put you off by turning you down, because 9 times out of 10 people will not fight it. You have to fight them if you can atleast provide good reason for you claim. They will choose to settle outside of court because its cheaper (another way to avoid losing more money and customers by a public court hearing)

[GeeP]

I would call your insurance company back and ask them this:  If it had been a 500lb block of cast iron similar in size, instead of a dog, should you have hit it going 75 MPH?

I'd also ask them what they would say if you ran it over and lost control.  Is it still your fault? 

Generally, when traveling down a freeway it is very difficult to determine WHAT something is.  For example, I passed a cardboard box in the middle of the road last week which looked empty.  It wasn't.  It was filled with books!  Imagine hitting that on your bike at 75 MPH!

[DoD#i]

yeah i realize that this is a mc board but i figuared that it would be ok to post in the odds n ends section bc of all the gun posts and i was just looking for opinons and btw thank yall for your respones but do yall think about the insurance thing

I wasn't saying it was bad to post it here in odds and ends - just that there's a huge difference between deciding to go ahead and hit the dog *in a cage* and *on a bike*.

As for insurance, I think insurance companies are scum, generally. They take your money and try to avoid paying any claims - if they are forced to pay claims, they raise rates - they ALWAYS make a profit. If in danger of not making a profit they call it an act of god and don't pay claims...

I carry liability only. I don't carry the minimums, as they are a bit too low these days. I have not carried collision and comp since the day a few decades back where I figured out what I'd get paid if I ever totaled my car (their artificially low valuation of the car's worth, minus my high deductible to keep the premium lower) and noticed that by merely saving the money they wanted for a premium every year it took VERY few years (about 3) for me to have as much money as the scum would pay me, if they could be made to pay me. If I total it, and it's not someone else's fault, I'll buy another one. I haven't totaled one yet - I'm way ahead on that account. Naturally, this goes along with never even thinking of buying a new car (or bike), or financing a car (or bike) - both great ways to go broke. Live within your means and pay cash, kids - it's the way to a bright future.

On another thread someone mentioned having coverage for medical payments (ie, 1000 or 5000 for you and your passenger). My sleazeball agent tried to slip this one onto my bike policy when I had specifically asked for the exact same coverage I have on the truck (which does not have that). $5000 of that was as much as the whole rest of the policy (in over-priced, over-regulated taxachussetts). Anyone with the least clue knows that $5000 doesn't go very far at all with the medical establishment these days, and since I have health insurance, and the only person I'd likely ever carry pillon does as well, it's a useless, very expensive, coverage, which I assume turns them a huge profit, which would be why the sleazy agent tried to slip it in. If I get injured in an accident and it's someone else's fault, they pay, and if it's my fault, my health insurance pays.

[beauduke01]

thats exactly why i drive a pick up with a ranch hand grill guard, hit a deer doin 90 and it quartered the deer and didnt get a drop of blood on my truck.

[yamahonkawazuki]

i try my damdest to avoid hitting animals, ( specially skunks) in my car. HOWEVER i wont wreck my car/bike to do it, my 65 chevy OTOH could prolly hit a house and coem out unscathed

[spc]

Bout the same as the ol' 240d.  That thing is solid steel from bumper to bumper.  I'm pretty sure I could come out on the winning end of things against and H2 with that lil ol MB.  Sure as hell gets better mileage.

[yamahonkawazuki]

yeah those old benzs are damned tough, and durable as well. diesel i assume?

[scottpA_GS]

 You are expected to maintain controll of your vehicle at all times. No matter what!.. even when the un expected happens... There is always the other side to your story that someone swerved and missed that animal and still recovered from any accident. Or the guy that hits it, causes damage to him and the animal and still looses....

You chose to not damage the animal and damaged you instead. All in all, you... (or your fiance) are ultimately responsible for the accident... You made the "final choice" So, in this case, you wrecked it, you bought it is the deal  

Unless the State police intend to prosecute the dog and charge him with a traffic violation   Then you could win  

[yamahonkawazuki]

You are expected to maintain controll of your vehicle at all times. No matter what!.. even when the un expected happens... There is always the other side to your story that someone swerved and missed that animal and still recovered from any accident. Or the guy that hits it, causes damage to him and the animal and still looses....

You chose to not damage the animal and damaged you instead. All in all, you... (or your fiance) are ultimately responsible for the accident... You made the "final choice" So, in this case, you wrecked it, you bought it is the deal  

Unless the State police intend to prosecute the dog and charge him with a traffic violation   Then you could win  

yup you gotta persuade the animal to confess. not likely

[mm75658]

son of a Buddha Loves You we have to get the dog to talk do you think that after we do get him to talk i would be able to take him with me as part of a carny side show act or do yall think that the accident might then seem like a set up that he was in on all along just to total my car so that i could get another one....

[bettingpython]

Grandpa used to upset Grandma to no end he refused to attempt to avoid animals on the roadway, liability insurance will not pay for your damage as a result of that action. You are at fault for the damage to your vehicle.

Had you hit an obstacle in the roadway you would'nt be covered under liability either your comp and collision is what pays for damages regardless of fault.

If they are denying the claim and you have comp and collision with them I would suggest that you find a new insurer.

[frankieG]

hit them...they are only animals, not worth your life or injury or that of your passengers

[yamahonkawazuki]

son of a Buddha Loves You we have to get the dog to talk do you think that after we do get him to talk i would be able to take him with me as part of a carny side show act or do yall think that the accident might then seem like a set up that he was in on all along just to total my car so that i could get another one....

if you can get that dog to talk, im VERY sure jerry springer would have you on his "show" 

[bombadillo]

My wife hit a dead deer on the road and it wound up almost killing her.  She rolled her car down the side of a steep hill about 5 times before landing upside down with the car literally almost folded at about a 45 degree angle upwards.  I show pics to people and they're just blown away that somebody walked out of that.  This was the accident that caused her to believe in god.  I'd show pics, but all I have is a hard copy of it.  Maybe I could scan it somehow.