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I hadn't hit any deer in my first fifteen years of driving a big truck and then in November and December of 2004, I hit three deer in three weeks.
We hit the first deer while traveling westbound on I-84 in upstate New York. The deer almost got hit when it ran across the eastbound lanes. It went through some short grass in the median and we hit it as it ran across our side of the interstate. That deer dented our bumper in the middle and did some additional damage as it went underneath.
One week later, we hit the second deer while we were traveling northbound on highway 85 north of Lusk, WY. It was standing on the right shoulder of the two lane road and it came onto the highway as we were passing. We hit that deer with the right corner of the bumper. It bent the bumper back into the steer tire and took out a chunk of rubber about six to eight inches long.
Again, one week later, we hit the third deer as we were traveling westbound on highway 61 east of Pratt, KS. That deer was standing on the right shoulder and as we were passing, it decided to cross the highway. We hit this deer with the left corner of the bumper and it almost hit the steer tire too.
My insurance deductable is $1,000 and a new replacement bumper like the one that came with the truck is $1,000. I reasoned that if I just replaced the bumper that bent like tinfoil, I wouldn’t have improved my position and if a 150 pound deer could bend my bumper back into the steer tire and possibly tie up my steering so that I might run off the road and get killed, I had better look into buying a more substantial bumper.
In my opinion, Ali Arc Industries (www.AliArc.com) from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, makes the best "moose proof" bumpers and is well worth the $2,800 cost. The thinnest part is ½ inch thick and is designed to withstand a hit from a moose. I also spent $220 on a 12 volt “deer whistle” so I thought that I was pretty well protected.
Everyone kept asking me if I had a chance to “try out” my new “moose-proof” bumper. Well … in September of 2007 while I was traveling westbound on I-90 west of Butte, MT, I hit an elk. Female elk generally weigh between 450 to 650 pounds and this one was pretty plump. She was standing on the dotted line, moved into my path and I hit her on the left-front of the tractor. It broke some welds on the bumper and bent it back several inches but it didn’t get into the fiberglass bodywork or headlight. I was able to wait several weeks until I got to one of my favorite repair facilities and got the bumper pulled back out and re-welded. The shock of the hit broke the filament in all 4 of my driving and fog lights. I still believe in the 12 volt “deer whistle” because of the reaction of most deer. During the mating season, deer and elk get goofy just like humans and there’s not much anyone can do about it.
I talked to the owner of a company whose driver hit an elk and it caused over $18,000 worth of damage and several weeks of downtime. Also, I heard of a driver who hit 2 cows and the cost was over $40,000 and the insurance company totaled the truck. So… I guess my "moose-proof" bumper just paid for itself and I lived to tell about it.
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