I saw the pictures of a deer that was hit the other day on one of the forums I frequent. The group rides a little faster than I am comfortable with, so I don't go to many of their rides. They don't try to push me, but I don't want to hold them up. I do often use their routes (some really nice ones too!) to go on my own pace and times that fit my odd schedule. Back to the deer incident- That one turned out very well. Rider is fine, bike needs some work. Even my dad hit a deer a few years ago on his Versys. He kept it on 2 wheels with no injuries (to him) and only minor damage to the bike. Most times bike vs. deer do not go so well.
Some of you know already, but I work in a 911 center in SE MN. I take all kinds of emergency and non emergency calls- then dispatch law enforcement, fire & ambulance. I commute through rural farm country almost exclusively on my motorcycle (Kawi C14) April - October. Working 6AM to 5:30PM puts me riding in low light. I see a lot of animals out there- both wild & loose domestic. I installed Denali DM1 auxiliary driving lights to help with both night time lighting and daytime visibility. I know not everyone will find them appealing, but I love them.
Today on my way to work it was quite foggy. I chose to take the US Hwy (4 lane for 2/3 of the trip) rather than the county roads I normally take. I don't know why.
First call I take today was a motorcycle vs deer on the same road I chose not to ride in on. The report I got is the rider was injured, but sounds like he should be ok. Bike (wing) slid quite a ways down the road. The deer (dead on impact) was claimed by a nearby landowner.
I saw this guy nearly every day on my way home from work. We usually met going opposite directions right near the scene of the crash. I don't know the guy or his riding abilities. I can't say if he where going too fast or other rider errors. Maybe this was just a plain old "accident".
I don't intend this to come across as judgmental, lecturing, or persuasive in any way. Only to share a story. This just sits in the back of my head maybe that could have been me had I chose to take my normal route to work. I'm not going to change what I do. I'll still ride, tour, and commute. I'll continue to use that route most of the time both on the bike and in my truck. I will be a bit more cautious in the low light, and rural areas. I've hit plenty of deer before, but all with 4 (or more) wheels. I hope to keep it that way.