August 27, 2012 1:15 PM PDT
Serious Question:
With a modern motorcycle, shod with disc brakes fore & aft,
does "laying-it-down" stop you any faster?
Am so afraid of deer that when riding at nite always ride with right hand covering the front brake lever. - but would never have been expecting one on the access road to a campground, during the daytime. - They do have a habit of engaging the unexpected. The only one I actually ever hit full on
stepped out of a frozen custard stand onto a heavily traveled, undivided 4 lane.
Did the deer drop it's frozen custard when you hit it?
I have always been bothered a bit whenever I hear someone say, "...and I had to lay it down." I hope I am never in a situation where that seems like it's the only viable option. I did run square into the back of a pick up once when the tail lights I had been seeing for a while didn't get any brighter once the driver hit the brakes hard enough to actually STOP, and I did drop the bike upon impact, which prevented me from being squished by the SUV behind me whose bumper stopped above my rear tire. But I never considered "laying it down" as an option.
As far as the deer in the road, whenever I have ever seen one just standing there, minding its own business, I have always headed straight for it, all the while checking for shiney beady eyes on either side of the street. Chances are, the one you are aiming at will move before you get to it, so once I have the bike upright and running straight, I start applying the brakes, just in case. Since I can't predict which direction it is going to go, I would rather not be in mid-swerve when I suddenly decide it's time to try and STOP. I aim for it, and it is NEVER in that same spot by the time I get there.
However, if you see ONE deer out on a road, chances are, there will be more! It's the ones that stay on the side of the road and wait till I get there to run out in front of me that I am mroe concerned with. And the fawns, even though they are smaller, are actually a larger concern for me. The old ones got that way by learning to avoid running in front of traffic. Hell, some of them around here won't even pick up their heads as the munch the grass growing at the edge of the road as I motor on by. The young ones are still skittish and unpredictable. I slow WAAAAY down when I see deer with spots on their backs!
