Had a Run-In with a deer on Monday

[ranss12]

I hit a deer on the way to the gym on Monday morning. This was always a big fear of mine since I thought that the nearest Tesla approved bodyshop was hundreds of miles away. I didn't even see the deer until it hit the right front bumper and went flying through the air. I was only going 35 +/- mph at the time and the deer, after thrashing around in the road for a while, jumped up and ran off into the woods. I have the whole thing on the dash cam. Anyway, good news…the car is still drivable, the damage was only about $3000, and there is a Tesla authorized bodyshop near me (ServiceKing) who says that Tesla has greatly improved their parts supply.
I had often wondered if EAP would respond to a deer attack. If only I had been on autopilot I would have an answer. Have any of you been on EAP during an animal strike incident?

 

[jrh007]

I hit a deer on the way to the gym on Monday morning. This was always a big fear of mine since I thought that the nearest Tesla approved bodyshop was hundreds of miles away. I didn't even see the deer until it hit the right front bumper and went flying through the air. I was only going 35 +/- mph at the time and the deer, after thrashing around in the road for a while, jumped up and ran off into the woods. I have the whole thing on the dash cam. Anyway, good news…the car is still drivable, the damage was only about $3000, and there is a Tesla authorized bodyshop near me (ServiceKing) who says that Tesla has greatly improved their parts supply.
I had often wondered if EAP would respond to a deer attack. If only I had been on autopilot I would have an answer. Have any of you been on EAP during an animal strike incident?View attachment 416170

That’s actually been one of the FSD challenges they discussed in autonomy day: Animals in the roadway. Deer can be very dangerous. I’m glad you (and your furry adversary) are okay.

 

[RFernatt]

Deja vu, similar setup, speed, color, and damage. About $4,000 in damage.

 

[DirtyT3sla]

We want the video!

I had a deer partially in the road while I was on AP, but I saw it in time and slowed and the deer ran back into the woods. The car did not respond at all, but who knows if the deer was fully in the road...

 

[srs5694]

This story reminded me of both the fact that Teslas are so quiet and of the existence of deer whistles. I Googled the latter and ran across this video, which claims that deer whistles aren't likely to be effective, unfortunately....

One detail from this video that may make you feel (slightly) better: If that $3000 repair estimate holds, that's 1/4 what the guy mentioned in the story paid for a non-Tesla car after hitting a deer.

 

[ranss12]

Videos of deer strike. It appears that the deer wasn't seriously injured. One video is from the front camera. The strike appears 48 seconds into the video. On the side video, the strike appears 55 seconds into the video.

That’s actually been one of the FSD challenges they discussed in autonomy day: Animals in the roadway. Deer can be very dangerous. I’m glad you (and your furry adversary) are okay.

But with a deer running towards me from the left side, wouldn't EAP treat this the same as a collision threat from a car approaching from the left side? I understand a stationary animal in the road is a problem for EAP.

 

[hydro 481]

I'm glad you and the deer are both alright. I'm eagerly awaiting the dashcam footage.

 

[BCNY]

There are so many variables before FSD can become a reality... It will still take a long time from where we are now...

 

[ranss12]

I'm glad you and the deer are both alright. I'm eagerly awaiting the dashcam footage.

I keep getting a security error when trying to upload the videos