Oh Marcia, that's too bad. There's lots of deer hits around here too - I am ever vigilant out on the highway. The bad season for deer hits is now upon us - November-December always has more than usual. I don't know about this year, but last year the province launched a campaign to be careful about deer on the roads - I think it was called Save a Buck, or something like that. In Saskatchewan it's no longer necessary to report them to the police unless the vehicle is so badly damaged it needs to be towed, or unless someone has been injured requiring medical attention. A good deal of the time it's just like your kids experience - minimal damage, everyone is okay, and the deer ran away (at least, those are the majority of the reports I used to take at work).

I'm glad everyone is okay.

So glad to hear everyone is OK. My BIL, SIL, niece and nephew have each hit a deer near their place around Athabasca. Lots of vehicle damage but they've luckily all been OK. As a result of their accidents, I was so worried coming home from Vancouver in October. I drove the last bit from Hinton to Edmonton, at night, and all I could see was glowing eyes flashing in the ditches. There were lots of them out that night. I really tried to keep my speed to a brakeable level, just in case some of them decided to dart onto the road. I lost a friend in a moose collision quite a few years ago and I've been rather cautious about wildlife ever since. I'm so relieved to hear that Alison and Dave are OK.

We get the odd one on the roads in the city, too, but speed is not as high as on the highway. Most times, they manage to find their way back to the river valley or wildlife workers come out to "assist" it back to the woods.

Shauna

Shauna, i heard that in BC and Alberta, they have "deer fences" and under-the-highway tunnels for the deer to go through. Maybe not all over, then, eh?

I'm bad at night-driving anyway, and deer make me really nervous. I'm so glad dh was driving the time we hit one! It was the same thing that time - it just took out a headlight and ran off.

Pudge, the deer population here has ballooned over the past few years. When i first came here in the mid-seventies, you almost never saw one. Now it's unusual if you don't!

TG, your loved ones are safe.

When I was younger, I always asked for dad first when I was in a dilemma too ;)

Nothing exciting in my world, I wish humans could hibernate.

I wish I knew where the fences and tunnels are here in Alberta. I hear daily about someone hitting a deer or moose somewhere and there seems to be more of them all the time. There are also less hunters than there used to be with the expense of licenses, the regulations with guns and the cost of gas, it hardly makes it worthwhile. With the milder winters there seems to be more and more wildlife around and at that rate they might have to put up fences and dig tunnels.

Cheers Al

Most of the fences and the tunnels are in the national parks in Alberta. Along some of the highways in Alberta, they are installing markers that don't bother drivers but flash at the wildlife in the ditch. I think I was also told that they emit a high pitched noise when a vehicle causes wind as it is passing by. I did notice that they have put some fencing along the new freeway that just opened up in Edmonton last month. DH just informed me that there is also a wildlife tunnel on it. He says that, although animals can't read signs, planners are starting to think that they work and are planning for them in new roadways. DH seems to have a bit of a guffaw in his voice, though. I think they work but he doesn't seem to think so.

BC seems to have most of the Coquihalla highway fenced off from wildlife. I think it's money well spent when a highway gets that much traffic. Speaking of the Coquihalla, though, does anyone in BC know when it will be paid off and there will no longer be a toll? Or are they just trying to convince us that they always need to keep a "maintenance" fee on it? : )

Shauna

So far I have not hit any wildlife, knock on wood, though I have had some close calls.

The moose are the big problem here. They are big enough to do serious damage and they make the deer look smart in comparison. Most of the deer here are mule deer, though white tail deer are starting to move into the area.

We have wildlife reflectors on some sections of road here. I donÂt know that they have any effect on the wildlife but they make it easier to spot the wildlife at night.
Ian

Marcia, I'm so glad to hear that everyone is OK. It must have been very scary for them.

Cindy

It's true about the moose being more dangerous. I just read in the paper that someone died near Thunder Bay after hitting a moose. If you have a small vehicle, you're in trouble.

I'm not sure what speed is better. Dh doesn't drive fast, but i'm sure Dave does - faster than dh, anyway. The deer we hit didn't do much damage. It mostly depends on where the deer hits or how quickly you can stop. Dave saw the deer coming but he couldn't do much because of oncoming traffic. He's so funny - i asked him what the look on the deer's face was like, and he said he turned his head away because he's not into kissing animals, esp. other males! LOL Reminds me of the time my bil was sitting in front of his house in the middle of the night and a bear came around the corner - he said he could have just about kissed him!