captpackrat | Deer Xing

At night around here, I usually drive a good deal below the speed limit. On my way home this evening, I was doing about 35 MPH in a 55 zone. It's a good thing I was.

Two deer suddenly dashed across the road in front of me. My car was loaded down with 700 pounds of animal feed, but at 35, stopping quickly was still fairly easy and I managed to stop with plenty of room to spare and without even stressing the brakes. I'm sure the guy behind me, who was probably getting annoyed at my slow speed, was grateful that I was driving so slow. If I'd been doing 55 (or faster, most people do 60-70 on this road; I usually do in the daytime), either I or more likely the guy behind me would have ended up plowing right into them, wrecking a car and a deer or two.

I see people flying down these roads at night, and I see dead deer on the sides of the roads almost every day. I still haven't figured out whether these people are ignorant, don't care, trust to luck or are just plain stupid. Probably all four.