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Dogs really ARE dumb enough to run into you

18K views 95 replies 56 participants last post by  Koda Coyote 
#1 ·
I still have some adrenaline in my system so forgive me if I'm a little incoherent. Just got back from an "incident" where I hit a dog and I'm still amazed I didn't go down.

I was on a 2-lane road, 35mph. It's a busy through-street with subdivisions all around. Up ahead I saw a couple of cars stopped in my lane, so I pulled up behind them and saw that someone had a dog (illegally) off leash and the dog was in the road. The dog finally went back to it's owner on the sidewalk, so the cars took off, and I followed behind them.

The next instant I see a dog homing in on me and I have about 1/10th of a second to think. In that instant, I remembered the MSF advice about dogs -- slow down, then speed up as they approach so their intercept vector is thrown off. Only, I had no time to slow down or speed up, so that option was out. I could have swerved, but all I could think of was hitting the dog while leaned over and lowsiding so I rejected that option.

What I did do is let off the throttle (I was only going like 15-20) and steer straight. I almost hate to admit it, but it didn't occur to me to brake -- in retrospect I don't think I could have gotten on the brake fast enough to make a difference anyway. And at some subconscious level, my brain said "no way that dog is dumb enough to hit me" so perhaps that's why I didn't go for the binders.

In any case, my brain was completely and utterly wrong, because the next thing I know I hear a yelp and my handlebar spontaneously turned left almost to the lock.

It was one of those classic, "so this is it, I'm going to die" moments that I hope never to experience again. The feeling of total helplessness as I was no longer in control of my motorcycle nor my fate. Somehow though, the Ninja recovered... through either hand of a Kawasaki engineer or perhaps the hand of God, she stayed up after shaking her head at someone's stupidity (either the dog, or the dog owner's, or my own).

As I pulled over and stopped, my first thought was remorse over killing somebody's pet but that didn't last long as the dog ran down the road in front of me and the owner (teenage male) tore off after him. Remorse turned to anger as I envisioned the skin I almost left on the road and the damage that would have occurred to my bike.

I got off to calm down and wait for the owner to return so I could ask if the dog was ok, but he never did. I stuck around for a while but the dog and owner had turned off some side road which led into a rat maze subdivision so I had no idea where they went.

So, my mistake was not regarding the dog as a threat after it left the road. I assumed that owner had control of it at that point and we all know what happens when you assume. That's mistake number 1, which led to mistakes 2 and 3 which were failing to go slower and cover the brake. Mistake number 4 was not believing a dog really is dumb enough to try to bite my front tire. I'm still in shock that any animal has such low instincts of self-preservation that evolution would allow it to survive long enough to breed. But, next time I'll recognize dogs for what they are -- homing missiles.

So, I still feel bad about (possibly) hurting the dog, but on the other hand, what was that kid thinking when he chose to break the city leash law on a busy 35mph road?

Ugh. Way to ruin a nice weekend morning ride.
 
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#2 ·
hey i hit one on a 50cc bike - tuned and bored to 72cc, riding head down at 60mph.
same as you, saw a pack of stray dogs about 150 yards ahead, one made direct eye contact and instead of running at me, made an intercept angle, calculating my speed etc!!!

i hit it hard and my bike went down, the dog ended up trapped between the bent forks and the exhaust downpipe, and skidded to a halt with me.

i was thrown from the bike and fkt my left leg up bad.
the dog was screaming and spinning round in the road and as i went over to see if it was ok it took a chunk out of my other leg.
my natural reaction was to kick the fk out of it and it ran off.

my bike was written off by the insurance company and i got scrap value back for it :(

in uk we are obliged to report hitting a dog within 24hrs or get prosecuted.
i tried to claim against the dog owner for damage to the bike and my leg but they denied it was theirs.

since then i have killed several dogs in my car. revenge is sweet.
seriously, i will never swerve to avoid an animal and risk causing a crash and killing myself or an innocent person.

if the dog is a loved pet it shouldnt be out on the road.
same with horses. over here theres loads of them on the roads, with no road tax, no insurance, crapping all over the roads.
all they are fit for is petfood and glue. i hate them.
 
#55 ·
since then i have killed several dogs in my car. revenge is sweet.
seriously, i will never swerve to avoid an animal and risk causing a crash and killing myself or an innocent person.

if the dog is a loved pet it shouldnt be out on the road.
same with horses. over here theres loads of them on the roads, with no road tax, no insurance, crapping all over the roads.
all they are fit for is petfood and glue. i hate them.
I've been looking for a new forum in which to spend my time and this post made me laugh aloud and say "I think I've found my new home". Cheers!
 
#3 ·
I live in a rural area, my house is surrounded by fields one 3 sides and woods on the other, growing up I had dirtbikes and I could just ride around wherever. I also have a dog who is an outside dog and he used to love to chase me on the dirtbike. One day he thought it would be a good idea to attack my front tire while I was riding... he didn't try that again. Still liked to chase me after that, but he kept his distance.

That's when I also learned that dogs are stupid enough to run into/try to bite a moving vehicle.
 
#5 ·
Gentlemen, it could be worse. Deer outweigh dogs by about 50 to 100 percent.
The dogs think the motorcycle is a nice fluffy animal. They don't realize it is a mechanical device with more power that 50 or 100 horses.
And some of them have to learn the hard way.
dc
 
#8 ·
Yeah! Deer are the Stupid ones. They are either completly oblivious to you or dumb struck mezmarized (sp) and either walk right in front of you and stop and stare, or spook and jump to try to cross "first" or, I've even had them run in the ditch along side of me for great distances (no matter how slow I go) and then they absolutly Have to cross in front of you. We have WAY more deer around here than we need. They should raise the hunters limit to about 10 ea. and thin them down a bit.
 
#6 ·
I was in my ford explorer, about 7pm at night, it was dark....driving down my street....dead end, i live at the end....doing about 30-35...there was a female standing on side....then i hear a "thud" on my passenger side on my truck, well, my house was 3 doors away, i stop, get out, look at the side of my truck, i dont see anything....a guy starts screaming at me, "Yo!!! you just ran over my dog"....i start walking towards him, and this young lab puppy, less than a year jumps on me running around in the street.....i asked "this dog??"...yea, u ran over him......1st of all, hes a black lab, at night, no collar, no leash, running around like a lunatic....2nd of all, i drive a truck...IF i ran over him, i would have crushed him....3rd, if i ran over him, it would have felt like a speed bump....the dumb dog ran into my truck as i drove by......

needless to say, 2 weeks later, i come home, he is the dog, once again, running around the neighborhood....i knock on the owners door, and ask "did ur dog get loose"...he goes "yea, where is he".....

Seriously?? you were so concerned, you were relaxing inside instead of looking for him??
 
#14 ·
needless to say, 2 weeks later, i come home, he is the dog, once again, running around the neighborhood....i knock on the owners door, and ask "did ur dog get loose"...he goes "yea, where is he".....

Seriously?? you were so concerned, you were relaxing inside instead of looking for him??
I love black labs!! Put him in the back of your truck next time he gets out and bring him to me:)
 
#10 ·
driving down I 40 last week and suddenly there is a deer running directly toward traffic on the westbound side of the 4 lane. The deer decides to shuck right at the last minute and clears the guard rail on the fly. I didn't see the final but she chose to get of at an overpass. Hope there wasn't a bike on the road below, no way the deer cleared the roadway and most likely broke a leg on landing.
 
#75 ·
Most dogs chase because its in their genetics somewhere. I have Border Collies and my high drive boy wants to chase cars because of his herding instinct.

As for deer, most people think they are stupid but that isnt the case. The reason they don't move or run out in front of cars is because they can't judge depth at that speed. Their eyes being on the side of otheir heads allows for extremely alert movement perception that is far beyond ours. However, it lacks in the ability to judge how quickly something is coming at them - particularly lights at night. There is no real object for them to focus on so they get hit.
 
#13 ·
I am bad:(...I don't walk my dog with a leash around my home...but I live on a dead end and I stay right with her at all times. I walk her down the drive, and let her run in the field, but if we walk farther and through a neighborhood I put her on a leash and carry a "baggie" for any accidents along the way!:biggrin:

She isn't bothered by motorcycles, but probably because I have one and so does a couple of my neighbors and my bf...

You have to assume that any animal is going to do the unexpected....run at your vehicle...I was on a highway, luckily in my jeep, when I saw what looked like a small deer start across the highway, as I watched it approach directly towards my side of the highway, I began to slow down and pulled into the berm, as it got into the median, I saw it was a wolf....it barely missed my front bumper...thank god it did though, it was tall, it cleared the bumper and I could see his head just over the hood...so now when I am in that area with my bike, I am extra careful.....
 
#15 ·
I am bad:(...I don't walk my dog with a leash around my home...

Thats not BAD.......but a less than 1 yr old puppy usually has no obedience, and for people who dont give a ****, i will bet any amout of money, the dog has no manners, just darts off when it feels like it, and jumps on anyone that comes near them, and doesnt listen......

but yet if the dog gets out, and gets hit....its the drivers fault.....go figure.
 
#16 ·
I had a similar incident years ago in my car. The dog ran from the yard where dad and kid were playing with it. I drove by, the dog came tearing out into the road and ran under the car. I got it with the rear wheel. happened right in front of the dad and kid. I stopped, the dad scooped up the dog, he said that it was not my fault, and then ran to his car to get the dog to the vet. I felt terrible.
 
#17 ·
On a motorcycle rally at the end of last Summer, our youngest member had said that he wanted to go to the summit of Mt.Shasta to get a nice sunset photo or two.
As we were sitting around the campfire, I noticed that the Sun was long since down and he should have had plenty of time to have returned.
So, I being the only one who was not drinking and concerned, I went back to look for him.
I was quite aware to look out for the deer as the park was closed and it was dark in the woods.
Not 3 miles past civilization, there was a nice 250-270 pound Black Bear in the middle of the darn road. (largest one that I have seen in the wild, including Yellowstone and Yosemite parks.)
He saw me and ran over a hill quickly.
Further up, I passed at least a dozen or more deer that were in the road or just next to it.
I was on my best behavior and avoided all of them.
You never know if they are going to jump at you or in front of you.
Several, tried both.
Our young, new rider, had taken the ONLY road that turned off before camp and must have passed me when I started up.
I stayed on the road that we all had taken up and back earlier in the day.

Be safe guys/girls. ;)

Eric :)
 
#18 ·
So the other day I was taking my dog on a walk in my neighborhood and I had forgotten to bring the leash. I'm just minding my own business when out of nowhere some crazy ******* on a motorcycle runs over my baby! I had to chase her down she was so frightened...
 
#21 ·
Tyler, it is a good thing that you were unhurt, and the bike appearently undamaged. You are definately not to blame for that incident with the dog. It is the fault of the owner who did not have his dog under control.

I myself have yet to have any incidents with animals on my bike. I am surprised actually, whit the number of stray cats, coyotes, deer and moose in this state. I've hit a few deer while driving, as well as a porcupine once.
 
#27 ·
I have a 98 Deluxe myself. Granted, there are better performing bikes out there, but I have to say the ACe is my personal favorite.

On topic:
I have read about people hitting animals such as moose while on the bike. Unfortunately, if you hit something that bad, your FUBAR. Personally, I hate the thought of even hitting a squirrel. Yes, I have no objections to hunting, and will even hunt myself, but to hit an animal by accident is a horrible experience. The few times when I have hit an animal, and it led to the animal's death, I felt terrible. It's a waste. And if it happens on a bike, you can get seriously hurt.
 
#28 ·
The few times when I have hit an animal, and it led to the animal's death, I felt terrible. It's a waste..
an answer for you - take it home and cook it.
fresh meat, ready gibbed.
there are plenty of good flatmeat recipes on the net.
you will eventually get a taste for it and start to use your bike as a hunting weapon.

if you run over a cat or dog and you don't fancy it in a stir fry, take it down to your local chinese take away or thai restaraunt and they will gladly take it off your hands.

waste not :D
 
#31 ·
No, dogs aren't that stupid. Just not always spot on when judging their braking capabilities in the frenzy to nip at you.

Deer, on the other hand, are stupid enough to do so. My brother had a friend come to a complete thorough stop... and the deer ran across the road anyway, directly into the driver's door of his B.A. Lincoln Town Car (of ancient huge vintage). Deer are quite stupid.
 
#33 ·
A few years ago I had a similar incident, where a small dog ran right into my front wheel. I had a moment to get ready and I remember really gripping the handgrips to get ready for the impact. I wobbled but did not go down; the dog ran off but with his neck benk at a strange angle. I'll admit that although I have had dogs all of my life I had no concern for this stupid animal. All of my concern was about myself and my bike. But since that incident I think I am a bit more alert when I see a dog near the roadway that I am on.
 
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