Ticketed for hitting a deer??? (Coeur d'Alene: appointed, live, bus)

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

Idaho woman contests ticket after deer collision | Idaho | Idaho Statesman (http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/04/23/1621062/idaho-woman-contests-ticket-after.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1KbACWhL7 - broken link)

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — A northern Idaho woman cited for inattentive driving after hitting a deer is contesting the ticket.

Sixty-two-year-old Sally Newcombe of Bayview says the deer ran into her and caused significant damage to the passenger side front fender and headlight on her 2010 Subaru Legacy. The deer was killed..

Ron White said, you can't fix stupid. I guess you can give it a badge... I'm pretty strongly in support of LE, but stories like this make me wonder just how well they are screening applicants.

[Lacerta]

Originally Posted by Toyman at Jewel Lake

Idaho woman contests ticket after deer collision | Idaho | Idaho Statesman (http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/04/23/1621062/idaho-woman-contests-ticket-after.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1KbACWhL7 - broken link)


[/color]
Ron White said, you can't fix stupid. I guess you can give it a badge... I'm pretty strongly in support of LE, but stories like this make me wonder just how well they are screening applicants.

Not knowing what LE is, I have no comment on that part

As for the article, we don't know what the actual circumstances were. I've been in a car that hit a deer that jumped in front of our car as we were crossing an overpass over a golf course. The deer was hiding under the overpass and went from out of sight to at our bumper in about 3 seconds. That was enough time to hit the brakes, but not enough time to stop. We bumped it, but it still ran off, and we just had a small dent. And that was a clear summer day.

It is also possible she was driving "attentively", but just used bad judgment. Maybe the deer was standing near the road for 5 minutes as she approached, and she assumed it was going to continue to stand there and didn't slow down or anything, and then it surprised her by jumping into the road. Not saying that makes it any less her fault, but "bad judgment" might be a lesser fine than "inattentive", I don't know.

However, I will argue both sides. In most cases, if the trees are well back from the road and there is good visibility, and no extenuating circumstances like a bridge for the deer to hide behind, a vehicle hitting a deer is the fault of the driver and is a ticketable offense. Usually, it is either inattentive drivers or stupid drivers. And if the collision was bad enough that the deer died and she had significant damage to the car, the deer didn't "run into her" as she is saying. She ran into it. It may have run in front of her, but that isn't the same thing.

Personally, I think that a person who hits a deer usually does deserve a ticket.

[Sage of Sagle]

I must admit that I'm disappointed with most cops up here. Not that they're ALL substandard, but I think they're widely under-trained even within the scope of being "small town" officers and "rural state troopers". Officer safety situational awareness is low, and I have seen some extremely questionable judgment in several instances. Then again, as a retired cop and thus more of an average citizen these days, I can only go by my personal glimpses and anecdotal experiences which may not match that of other observers or those with more exposure to the daily routines of officers here.

Since insurers treat deer strikes as a no-fault comprehensive incident, to receive a ticket would have had to mean there were extenuating circumstances...officer's personal observation, witness statements, tire marks, conflicting statements by the driver, etc.

Having hit a deer myself (in the dark, and the deer just "appeared" in front of my headlights bounding out from the darkness on a heavily treed area of Hwy 95) I would tend to think that most deer strikes shouldn't result in a ticket unless there were other factors to point to driver fault.

[SCGranny]

We once drove 150 miles... at night... and counted the deer by the side of the road. There were 147, yet not one jumped out in front of is.

Last summer, in broad daylight, we were driving a rural two-lane, smooth gravel road, doing about 35-40, when out of the brush leaped a huge deer, right in front of us. I hit the brakes and only 'tapped' him with the right front quarter-panel. I and my passengers got out, knives in hand, just in case... the deer was 100 yards down the slope, nose to nose with a couple of females. Whatever pains he might have suffered, he didn't need to be put out of his misery.

My brother who lives in ID told me once that if you hit a large animal like a deer or elk, and kill it, you must stop and call for LE and wait until they get there and tag it.

I firmly believe that deer either dare each other to cross in front of cars, or are occasionally suicidal.

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by SCGranny

We once drove 150 miles... at night... and counted the deer by the side of the road. There were 147, yet not one jumped out in front of is.

Last summer, in broad daylight, we were driving a rural two-lane, smooth gravel road, doing about 35-40, when out of the brush leaped a huge deer, right in front of us. I hit the brakes and only 'tapped' him with the right front quarter-panel. I and my passengers got out, knives in hand, just in case... the deer was 100 yards down the slope, nose to nose with a couple of females. Whatever pains he might have suffered, he didn't need to be put out of his misery.

My brother who lives in ID told me once that if you hit a large animal like a deer or elk, and kill it, you must stop and call for LE and wait until they get there and tag it.

I firmly believe that deer either dare each other to cross in front of cars, or are occasionally suicidal.

In most places deer are over populated. The ones that run into the sides of vehicles are the "blondes" competing for Darwin awards and "winning".

I had a mulie commit "suicide by Navigator" with my vehicle. I saw it standing by the side of the road. It saw me and watched as I approached like it was waiting at a bus stop. Road was icy and I slowed as far as I could. Only when I reached it did it step out infront of me. Too bad, another year and he would have had a nice rack.

[JerichoHW]

I.C. §49-1401 governs the offense she was charged with and states:

"Inattentive driving shall be considered a lesser offense than reckless driving and shall be applicable in those circumstances where the conduct of the operator has been inattentive, careless or imprudent, in light of the circumstances then existing, rather than heedless or wanton, or in those cases where the danger to persons or property by the motor vehicle operator’s conduct is slight."

[wildflower82]

Maybe, this has something to do with the "Regulatory Czar" that wants animals to be able to sue!!

[jjkmd]

Originally Posted by 3~Shepherds

Maybe, this has something to do with the "Regulatory Czar" that wants animals to be able to sue!!

hahaha yeah, Van Jones (ex-"green" jobs czar) was making some statement that mother earth should have the same rights a humans...can she vote to?

[Wolfhound]

I was born in Pennsylvania but left when I was 13. I know for a fact that if you hit a deer there you get to keep the meat. No questions asked. Just throw it over your fencer and off you go. They have an excess of deer. I moved to Alaska in 1962 with my parents and there if you hit a moose or a deer you have to call the authorities and they will cut it up and give it to deserving people who are on a list. Mostly charities who feed the poor or homeless. No place where I've ever lived do deer have "rights". I will be on the jury if you have to go to court. NOT GUILTY!!!! How in God's name could an officer tell if you were inattentive just because a deer ran out in front of you. I'd be willing to bet if the cop did the same thing, no ticket would be forthcoming.
Fred

[banjomike]

In Idaho, a dead deer goes to the food assistance program. The driver doesn't get to keep it.

Out here, cattle on the highway are sometimes a bigger danger than a deer. An Angus cow crossing the road in the middle of a dark night is very hard to see if the headlights don't catch an eye reflection.

Things can be deceiving at night. I once was driving back from a gig in the middle of the night, during winter. There was a wind blowing the snow sideways across the highway, and my lights caught what looked like 2 people, walking down toward the highway in a large field on my left. They were apparently walking side by side.

I began to slow down, thinking they may be snowmobilers who got stuck, and I came to a stop before they reached the highway.

Good thing I stopped. What looked like 2 men walking side by side, carrying a few things, turned out to be a huge black bull moose with 4 white legs. He also had a white trimmed beard, which looked like a typical small bag often used on snow machines. If I had not been completely stopped, I would have skidded into him, and we would have both been in big trouble. Me, especially. It doesn't pay to **** off a moose.

He didn't even glance at me as he walked across the road.