DEER!

[PKPK]

Before hitting the deer in the photo I posted, I was as hard on the brakes as I could be. When it was clear that I was going to hit the deer, I distinctly remember aiming for the middle of the deer and letting off the brakes. I think letting off the front brakes and a boat load of luck is what allowed me to avoid crashing.

I would never pretend to have that thought process in that sort of panic situation.  Plus I'm pretty sure my brain and hands would not communicate effectively if the ultimate goal is to "aim for the middle of the deer."

I have one simple goal, to scrub as much speed as possible.  I would rather hit the deer with my brakes on than take my chances and see if I could somehow cut my way through the critter.  My end goal is to survive and if I go down after contact so be it. 

[Greg]

I have one simple goal, to scrub as much speed as possible.  I would rather hit the deer with my brakes on than take my chances and see if I could somehow cut my way through the critter.  My end goal is to survive and if I go down after contact so be it. 

This is how I would handle it as well. Brakes, brakes, brakes ..... launch over the handlebars (lol) and hopefully survive.

[HSL]

Brake, absolutely.  But frankly, I don't even recall if I got to the brakes before it was over.  I just know that I was going 20 mph for quite a while afterwards -- with those adrenaline levels I would have made an emergency stop for even a turtle on the road (so much for Chris' question ).

Not getting to the brakes might have been just as well, given that the deer evaded around my rear-end.  Hard braking might have made a side impact to the rear more likely.   (Ouch.)

So take all the things we do or don't do for whatever reason, and add the things the deer does or doesn't do, and you get just what Allon saiid --

there is a factor of luck (or bad luck) to all of this.

-- for which we can be grateful every day we ride home safely.  The only thing we can do is to ensure we don't push our luck any harder than absolutely necessary.

But I'm not even sure we get to decide what we're gonna do when it happens.  I think our brains make a million decisions in an instant, and then our bodies just do what they're told.

Fully agreed.  My only conscious thought was sizing up the guy and thinking a straight impact would be survivable (pure speculation, of course).  I didn't plan, or aim, or anything like that.  I guess there would have been a different level of panic, and more likely some silly and painful maneuver, if the thing had been moose-sized. But whether the thought was related at all to what I was doing, or what I was doing was just dictated by the inability to do something else -- no idea.

Anyway, my next gadget will be a body-heat activated laser cannon that pulverizes anything that moves 1000 feet down the road...

Remind me not to ride ahead of you.

I think that's called "collateral damage".  A small price to pay for my personal safety.  

[Elk]

All the car drivers who saw me hit it, were really impressed that I didn't crash.

Me, too.