Oh Deer - Another One

Following on from the thread by Talbs13 where he hit a bull in the middle of the road.

I managed to hit a deer last night on the motorway home from work, I was doing exactly 70MPH when it appeared in the headlights and I had no chance of avoiding it. What really gets to me is I'd always considered myself a competent driver, I've never hit anything in 18 years of driving - passed my advanced driving course and now this happens:







I'm sure Talbs13 would agree it can give you one helluva fright - I know some might say its only a MK6 Escort and its not worth much and yes I do have another car (well the wife's) so I'm not completely stuck but I'm hoping its just a bumper, light, grill and radiator thats required. Will price those parts up today.

Reason I'm posting is I am wondering if anyone can advise if I have to report this to the police or not?

I'm not sure if its just farm animals or where the law stands ref this sort of accident. Also would it be worth my while reporting this to my insurance - or just paying to fix it myself?

why dont you call the police and ask them?

The roads seem to be full of animals at the moment, ive hit 2 rabbits in the last week!

Thing is I might have been able to swerve around them but seeing as they were only rabbits I didnt risk it... poor fellas

Sonea Fifer said:

I'm not sure if its just farm animals or where the law stands ref this sort of accident. Also would it be worth my while reporting this to my insurance - or just paying to fix it myself?

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Depends if you want to pay for it yourself - or if the cost of the excess + hike in premium is worth it

If you kill a dog, goat, horse, cattle, ass, mule, sheep or pig then the Road Traffic Act obliges you to report it to the Police. You do not have to report an incident with a deer unless someone was hurt or someone's property (other than the deer) was damaged.

Dogbreath said:

If you kill a dog, goat, horse, cattle, ass, mule, sheep or pig then the Road Traffic Act obliges you to report it to the Police. You do not have to report an incident with a deer unless someone was hurt or someone's property (other than the deer) was damaged.

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Thanks - that was the response I was hoping for, no one was hurt (apart from the deer) and no one else was involved. The accident happened at 0230ish on the motorway on route home from work.

howardcanning said:

Depends if you want to pay for it yourself - or if the cost of the excess + hike in premium is worth it

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Insurance isn't really an issue for me (I'm old you see ) Right now I'm weighing up my options on whether to pay and repair it as best I can myself - or simply scrap it and buy another car?

Bumper, rad, headlamp, indicator. Not pretty, but back on the road.

The wing, grille, bonnet are all non essential and will be fine as they are (you may need to use a universal adjuster to dress the corner of the bonnet by the lamp)

Lopéz said:

Bumper, rad, headlamp, indicator. Not pretty, but back on the road.

The wing, grille, bonnet are all non essential and will be fine as they are (you may need to use a universal adjuster to dress the corner of the bonnet by the lamp)

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Agreed - i've priced the parts ups and reckon it'll be around £300ish to fix - dam that venison aint cheap

I've also got the MOT due in Sept - the plan initially was to see how much that'll cost (and it will cost) and make the decision to keep it or scrap it then. I'd say decision time has been brought forward a few months

Cheers for the replies though - must admit i was a bit shaken up after it happened.

You'll get that back on the road a lot cheaper than £300!

Even if you shop on Ebay Buy It Now alone:

Bumper £32 delivered

Headlamp + indicator £18.90 delivered

Not sure what model yours is but radiators starting at £28

Worry about the cosmetics later!

Thanks for the links there Lopez - really appreciated

My Dad his a deer yesterday in his L200 Trojan, luckily it's a big car so only damaged the underneith. of it was a small hatchback it could have been much worst for the car and driver

Lopéz said:

(you may need to use a universal adjuster to dress the corner of the bonnet by the lamp)

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You mean a big hammer?

Unlucky Sonea. Would hate to hit something that big!

I kicked a fully grown seagul at 70Mph last saturday , that would have been sore if it had of got me in the face or chest. (on my motorbike)

Amps said:

I kicked a fully grown seagul at 70Mph last saturday , that would have been sore if it had of got me in the face or chest. (on my motorbike)

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hit a pigeon on my bike once, was a few lb punch to the chest amplified at 70mph. Had to stop and get off the bike to get my breath back

dam that must have given you some fright, least the car aint to bad

looks like a standard modification for an escort in the chav scene. Chopping up the front bumper etc. What's the matter with you?

Vans said:

looks like a standard modification for an escort in the chav scene. Chopping up the front bumper etc. What's the matter with you?

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Lol -the car is standard. Unfortunatley unlike the Mondeo bumpers I'm afraid the old gaffer tape isn't going to work on this

At the moment I'm thinking of using this accident as an opportunity to change cars and I'm looking towards the VW scene at the moment