Oh BOTIG...
My wife and I left yesterday to Colorado around 1:30AM from the Chicago burbs. We were going to be staying for 5 nights/6 days. About 4 hours in, a suicidal deer cut our trip short. It jumped out
from the oncoming lanes and I hit it going 70mph on I80 in Iowa. I wasn't tired and was paying very close attention to the road for that very reason, but wow do they just come out of nowhere and fast. The deer split into two pieces, with his lower half going down the side of my car and the upper half going across the windshield.
My wife was sleeping, so she was terrified to wake up to that. We were both 100% OK though. Despite the damage, the car was driving fine, not leaking any fluids, and the hood was latching fully. I wasn't going to take it to Colorado for any mountain driving, but I was able to drive it the 4 hours home instead of towing it. I was certain I'd get pulled over but nope, passed at least 6 state troopers and none seemed bothered. If I had been smart and put towing and rental on my insurance policy, I could have gotten it towed and hopped into a rental car to finish the trip at no cost to us. Don't have either :-/ although I may be changing that.
At the end of the day, I'm just glad my wife and I are both walking away from this unscathed. The trip and the car are not important. The Rav4 took the hit very well at that speed and the deer could have easily gone through the windshield. The airbags did not go off, probably because my car kept its speed pretty well after the hit. I didn't lose control at all either. I think a stabilizer bar got knocked loose because there was some bad suspension noise on dips and bumps going home. The shop is guessing close to 6k in damage. It is only worth 10K, so I'm guessing if it nears 7-8K they may consider totaling it, which would be a shame because its a solid car.
My wife and I left yesterday to Colorado around 1:30AM from the Chicago burbs. We were going to be staying for 5 nights/6 days. About 4 hours in, a suicidal deer cut our trip short. It jumped out
from the oncoming lanes and I hit it going 70mph on I80 in Iowa. I wasn't tired and was paying very close attention to the road for that very reason, but wow do they just come out of nowhere and fast. The deer split into two pieces, with his lower half going down the side of my car and the upper half going across the windshield.
My wife was sleeping, so she was terrified to wake up to that. We were both 100% OK though. Despite the damage, the car was driving fine, not leaking any fluids, and the hood was latching fully. I wasn't going to take it to Colorado for any mountain driving, but I was able to drive it the 4 hours home instead of towing it. I was certain I'd get pulled over but nope, passed at least 6 state troopers and none seemed bothered. If I had been smart and put towing and rental on my insurance policy, I could have gotten it towed and hopped into a rental car to finish the trip at no cost to us. Don't have either :-/ although I may be changing that.
At the end of the day, I'm just glad my wife and I are both walking away from this unscathed. The trip and the car are not important. The Rav4 took the hit very well at that speed and the deer could have easily gone through the windshield. The airbags did not go off, probably because my car kept its speed pretty well after the hit. I didn't lose control at all either. I think a stabilizer bar got knocked loose because there was some bad suspension noise on dips and bumps going home. The shop is guessing close to 6k in damage. It is only worth 10K, so I'm guessing if it nears 7-8K they may consider totaling it, which would be a shame because its a solid car.
