Haven't hit a deer yet

[Terrymo]

My jeep doesn't need a collision warning system. I have a wife..

On road, my wife thinks she’s Maria Andretti and complains I drive too slow. But there’s plenty of reflexive profanity from her when I’m driving the Jeep off road.

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[Heimkehr]

I am extra frosty when driving at night, now that October is here and the does are on the move. I've had two close-ish calls just in the past 10 days. Every year is different.

The occasional fresh roadkill makes it plain that impacts are occurring. It's the annual dance that we tacitly agree to every time we get behind the wheel.

I don't know if any of the related e-nannies, of which there are none on my Jeep, would've intervened in said close calls. Possibly they would have.

We'll just keep on keeping on.

 

[YBABRAT]

Nah, i dont have this option. i was just looking for a jeep with manual winows & locks, i didn't even know this technology even existed.

Well... I originally wanted the same for myself. I was afraid of electronics issues and disliked government mandates. I really thought 2019 would be an easy year not to have safety features. I had limited options for what I really wanted once I started picking my used Jeep, and did not want a 2018. My insurance had been moving to require such things to get discounts. Before you know it those discounts will fade away once 80% of the cars on the road meet the 2020 mandates and insurance once gave as discount incentives in newer cars.

 

[YBABRAT]

Well- there are pro’s and con’s to most everything. I’ve hit two, no damage, except to the deer.

Steel bumper? Same morning I noted further down the hwy an expired bear. Within a weeks time 5 coworkers hit a deer. One was driving a newer Bronco. None had safety features like my Jeep.

Fuel for thought. Most of the time it's truckers with a small city mounted on their rig that create road kill. My theory is bright lights stun the deer and other animals as they become more blinded when looking into them. I was fortunate I was still within town speed limit, as the deer was coming from the outer left edge of a right turn bend. So my lights did not directly effect mamma deer, but the young'un had faltered into not following momma closely. Fortunately it gathered mamma's location quickly and bee lined to her. My coworker friend behind me did not see the deer until after I moved on. Not that being from behind blocking forward view. Just fog wad too dense until they approached closer to where I had stopped.

I stopped using fogs and brights since the factory LED lights do a good job on the road. But most who run as lead car will use them... being what had happened with coworker after moving passed me once on hwy. The car in front had either brights or fogs on and swerved away when deer was stunned and stood ground in fast lane.

 

[2nd 392]

Steel bumper? Same morning I noted further down the hwy an expired bear. Within a weeks time 5 coworkers hit a deer. One was driving a newer Bronco. None had safety features like my Jeep.

Fuel for thought. Most of the time it's truckers with a small city mounted on their rig that create road kill. My theory is bright lights stun the deer and other animals as they become more blinded when looking into them. I was fortunate I was still within town speed limit, as the deer was coming from the outer left edge of a right turn bend. So my lights did not directly effect mamma deer, but the young'un had faltered into not following momma closely. Fortunately it gathered mamma's location quickly and bee lined to her. My coworker friend behind me did not see the deer until after I moved on. Not that being from behind blocking forward view. Just fog wad too dense until they approached closer to where I had stopped.

I stopped using fogs and brights since the factory LED lights do a good job on the road. But most who run as lead car will use them... being what had happened with coworker after moving passed me once on hwy. The car in front had either brights or fogs on and swerved away when deer was stunned and stood ground in fast lane.

Oh yeah- it was joking but true, I saw one that ended up in the windshield. Mine were both with a PU while towing the Jeep severely limiting braking and evasive maneuvering. Like a “deer in the headlights” is real.

 

[AFD]

Most of my deer strikes have been them running full-speed into the side of my vehicle, so good luck with getting any collision avoidance system to safely figure that one out.

And while I can absolutely see it saving you from a front-end collision (almost had one tonight), I really don't want auto-braking turned on when the roads are slick from heavy rain, slush, ice or snow.

Seems like a novel way to go from a few thousand dollar trip to the body shop (that's covered by your insurance), to having a sudden life-altering auto-brake send you sliding head-first into an oncoming semi truck.

But sure, a few sensors/cameras and some cheap CPU, will always figure out every complex situation better than a human

 

[Terrymo]

Most of my deer strikes have been them running full-speed into the side of my vehicle, so good luck with getting any collision avoidance system to safely figure that one out.

And while I can absolutely see it saving you from a front-end collision (almost had one tonight), I really don't want auto-braking turned on when the roads are slick from heavy rain, slush, ice or snow.

Seems like a novel way to go from a few thousand dollar trip to the body shop (that's covered by your insurance), to having a sudden life-altering auto-brake send you sliding head-first into an oncoming semi truck.

But sure, a few sensors/cameras and some cheap CPU, will always figure out every complex situation better than a human

Honest question. Are anti-lock brakes not still in effect? How is it a hindrance? I’ve never had it but my wife’s cars generally do, so I’m genuinely curious.

 

[Flip]

Oh yeah- it was joking but true, I saw one that ended up in the windshield. Mine were both with a PU while towing the Jeep severely limiting braking and evasive maneuvering. Like a “deer in the headlights” is real.

Could someone just give me a little scratch behind the ear?

 

[azjl#3]

Some turn off collision warning system on their JL or JT Jeeps. I find early morning and at night drives... especially in this time of season a safety feature for deer and my Jeep. A foggy morning deer incident was avoided. Got mobbed by a mamma deer and young'un. Woke me up but my co worker who was behind me thought it was a one of. They headed on a little faster on hwy only to be attacked by a 6 point buck.

So if anyone is in deer country think of using your collision warning with active braking system.

Deer? Pffft. Elk, tbone one of those and hope you survive.

 

[azjl#3]

Most of my deer strikes have been them running full-speed into the side of my vehicle, so good luck with getting any collision avoidance system to safely figure that one out.

And while I can absolutely see it saving you from a front-end collision (almost had one tonight), I really don't want auto-braking turned on when the roads are slick from heavy rain, slush, ice or snow.

Seems like a novel way to go from a few thousand dollar trip to the body shop (that's covered by your insurance), to having a sudden life-altering auto-brake send you sliding head-first into an oncoming semi truck.

But sure, a few sensors/cameras and some cheap CPU, will always figure out every complex situation better than a human

Or standing still till the last second. 11pm, Wife driving, I'm watching, known deer area, I see a 2 point left lane standing there, 100 yards up, she starts to slow, it just stands there, so she keeps going in right lane. About a second before passing the dang thing, it goes head down steps toward us and puts a 6 foot scratch down the side of her Cherokee with the antlers. I laughed too loud... Married guys will understand.

and BTW, the auto emergency braking only slows you whichever way you are steering, no lane changes.

I now have that on my 24, so that stuff works for big animals, huh?

 

[AFD]

and BTW, the auto emergency braking only slows you whichever way you are steering, no lane changes.

Honest question. Are anti-lock brakes not still in effect? How is it a hindrance? I’ve never had it but my wife’s cars generally do, so I’m genuinely curious.

The rural 2-lane highways around here are constant windy curves with very few, if any straightaways.

If you abruptly spike the brakes on snow, ice or standing water, there's a very good chance you're leaving your lane and either entering into oncoming traffic or off the road into trees.

I've driven other vehicles with collision avoidance and whether the anti-lock kicks in or not, it's absolutely a more abrupt stop than what I'd apply on my own in slippery conditions.

Other than slick roads, I actually do think these systems work really well - when they're working. Have already seen camera/sensor malfunctions due to bugs, dirt and direct sunlight, and eventually, that vehicle had to have the windshield unit behind the mirror replaced with less than 2 years on the road. Thankfully, the system was smart enough to provide warnings so that "unengaged" drivers would know not to rely on it.

All I'm saying is that a vehicle's computer simply does not have enough information to decide whether it's safer to head-on strike a 150lb deer on an icy curve versus spiking the brakes and potentially hitting something with a far deadlier mass. And tbf, "deer through windshield killing driver" isn't at all uncommon news around here. Either decision might be a gamble, but for now, most vehicles are unable to properly assess those odds (ie, is car turning? is road icy? is semi oncoming? how about we brake lightly and still hit the deer, but at a slower velocity?)

 

[azjl#3]

The rural 2-lane highways around here are constant windy curves with very few, if any straightaways.

If you abruptly spike the brakes on snow, ice or standing water, there's a very good chance you're leaving your lane and either entering into oncoming traffic or off the road into trees.

I've driven other vehicles with collision avoidance and whether the anti-lock kicks in or not, it's absolutely a more abrupt stop than what I'd apply on my own in slippery conditions.

Other than slick roads, I actually do think these systems work really well - when they're working. Have already seen camera/sensor malfunctions due to bugs, dirt and direct sunlight, and eventually, that vehicle had to have the windshield unit behind the mirror replaced with less than 2 years on the road. Thankfully, the system was smart enough to provide warnings so that "unengaged" drivers would know not to rely on it.

All I'm saying is that a vehicle's computer simply does not have enough information to decide whether it's safer to head-on strike a 150lb deer on an icy curve versus spiking the brakes and potentially hitting something with a far deadlier mass. And tbf, "deer through windshield killing driver" isn't at all uncommon news around here. Either decision might be a gamble, but for now, most vehicles are unable to properly assess those odds (ie, is car turning? is road icy? is semi oncoming? how about we brake lightly and still hit the deer, but at a slower velocity?)

Going to have to disagree, with the jeep having anti skid, traction control/stability control.


First, in our neck of the woods, ice/snow is not when the animals will be out. Second, they would be out in the rain, but that should not change dynamics.

And I am not worried about a 100lb deer, I'm worried about the 700lb Elk who's shoulders are 2 feet above my hood, that is camouflaged.

Next, I wager if at the last second a huge deer was in front of you, your reaction will most likely be to stab the brake pedal. Why not let emergency brake do it a second earlier?

If the emergency braking engages, it will continue to give you the same steering direction you had before braking, or allow you to steer normally, or it will be overcome by anti skid, stability, traction control.

While not a fan of the system, it did keep a guy from hitting me while turning left in front of me while he was to my right, both of us going left , at an intersection. I guess he wanted the inside track, the ram let him have it. The ram twice, detected a guard rail with reflectors it did not like and gently applied braking which you can overcome.

 

[NWJeepr]

Well trained drivers used to be able to out-brake the old and primitive 2 and 3 channel ABS systems.

I don't think most skilled drivers can out-brake modern ABS/stability control systems. They've come such a long way, and the critical factors they help reduce along with collision avoidance systems are perception and reaction time. That leaves the driver to focus on things they can improve and control, like paying attention, steering, and reducing speed in risky conditions.

Not sure if it was available on my 2023, but I wasn't specifically looking for that option. My next vehicle will have it, though.

 

[AFD]

Going to have to disagree, with the jeep having anti skid, traction control/stability control.


First, in our neck of the woods, ice/snow is not when the animals will be out. Second, they would be out in the rain, but that should not change dynamics.

And I am not worried about a 100lb deer, I'm worried about the 700lb Elk who's shoulders are 2 feet above my hood, that is camouflaged.

Next, I wager if at the last second a huge deer was in front of you, your reaction will most likely be to stab the brake pedal. Why not let emergency brake do it a second earlier?

If the emergency braking engages, it will continue to give you the same steering direction you had before braking, or allow you to steer normally, or it will be overcome by anti skid, stability, traction control.

While not a fan of the system, it did keep a guy from hitting me while turning left in front of me while he was to my right, both of us going left , at an intersection. I guess he wanted the inside track, the ram let him have it. The ram twice, detected a guard rail with reflectors it did not like and gently applied braking which you can overcome.

Anti-skid, stability control and traction control will usually keep you going in a straight line when you completely lose traction, correct? There's no miracle in technology to correct that. Going around a 2-lane curve when this happens either puts you into the oncoming lane or off the road. I've had it happen before in a vehicle equipped with all of that. And while it might've kept me from rear-ending the traffic stopped on a large patch of ice around a blind corner, whatever happened while sliding in the wrong lane was certainly unpredictable af for someone that's never experienced them all trying to work at once, if nothing else.

And I rarely see deer in the rain around here, but during hunting season in late November through most of January, hunters often get them moving with plenty of snow or ice on the road. Usually not with frequency of travel seen during rut, but still quite common and situations I've been in countless times.

700lb elk would certainly be worth avoiding a direct hit if possible. A much smaller 150lb whitetail? Maybe, maybe not. I'm definitely thankful for the times I've managed quick, but gentle slow-downs only to tap the deer. Even at full speed, I'm thankful for just body damage, cause every two to three years around here, there's always a new fundraiser dinner for either the family of someone killed when the deer is thrown up and through their windshield, or for when they're in a vegetative state with brain damage from the injury. And even still, we're always taught to slow down and not to swerve around a deer trying to avoid it, since going into traffic or trees still has a far higher chance of ending badly.

Dunno. It's just one common, but very specific scenario that concerns me and probably doesn't apply to the majority of drivers in the US. Otherwise, I'm mostly okay with the technology, maybe even a bit more so with some additional cameras/sensors and computational logic to not always boil down every incident to 'collision imminent, stop asap'.

 

[Save The Manuals!]

Most of my deer strikes have been them running full-speed into the side of my vehicle, so good luck with getting any collision avoidance system to safely figure that one out.

And while I can absolutely see it saving you from a front-end collision (almost had one tonight), I really don't want auto-braking turned on when the roads are slick from heavy rain, slush, ice or snow.

Seems like a novel way to go from a few thousand dollar trip to the body shop (that's covered by your insurance), to having a sudden life-altering auto-brake send you sliding head-first into an oncoming semi truck.

But sure, a few sensors/cameras and some cheap CPU, will always figure out every complex situation better than a human

That's what happened to my husband's 2022 Corolla Hybrid. We were well north of $10k in damage.

My husband said it was a 300 pound buck. It shifted the hood sideways.

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