wally wrote on Jun 14^th, 2012 at 12:50am:

Check with your insurance company. Since the canoe has it's own vehicle identification number, they may tell you you should have had insurance for it.
I bought insurance for my more expensive boats. Not really that costly, and the coverage is much better.
I use to use State Farm, and the agent said it was covered. But after asking about different scenarios, I found it was really only good if it was in my garage 

Dude, slowing down to 30 on rural roads is a particularly bad idea, deer or no deer........a case where the cure is worse than the disease........do the math with someone doing 70, throw in a phone call, a text or digging for a CD and the potential for a strike from another car is higher than you might think (yes I understand it wouldn't be your fault......tell it to the undertaker).

Man, that's a terrible story. I hear similar ones now and again, and it's what makes me drive so slow at night when deer are around that people get super mad at me and flick me off as they pass me.

After seeing three deer, and considering how paranoid I am about hitting one with the canoe on the car, I slowed down to almost 30 mph. Cars were again getting mad at me. I would just pull over to let them pass. 

For what it's worth, I strap the canoe on five tiems, twice over the canoe and three times over the gunwales. Two ropes holding in down on each end, front and back.

I'd vote with the hood tie down ropes possibly entangling the deer, especially if you have to 2 and criss-cross them to form an X. If the ropes were strong enough to take the initial hit, the deer might just be repelled off and your car/canoe would suffer minor damage.

In MI, you hit a deer and kill it, the carcass is yours. I know people who have hit and killed one, gut it out and took it to nearest butcher shop for processing. Takes some of the sting out of paying your deductible.

On serious note, when I was a test driver for GM, I worked the mid-night shift and Milford Proving ground.
Even though the facility was surrounded by a high wire fence, the deer managed to find their way onto the grounds and it was always a concern.

They brought in safety experts to talk to the drivers about what to do if a deer collision is imminent and you have time for some reaction?
Never swerve hard or try and run off road to avoid deer. Both cases can cause you to lose control, maybe roll over or hit obstacle head on. Deer "might" be missed but you are dead/injured or trying to explain to insurance company that it was a deer, not you falling asleep or inattentiveness that caused the accident.

DO brake firmly without losing control, that's when those anti-lock brakes really shine. Try and hit the critter in the front/rear quarters which hopefully will send them spinning off to side.
Of course if you hit them mid leap, and they miss those ropes your screwed when it comes crashing thru the windshield.

My Dad was friends with an old time constable that lived in Northern Lower MI. He told the story of finding a car stopped dead in the road late at night with screams and some kid of commotion going on in back seat.
He cautiously approached the vehicle thinking it was some kind of assault going on?

Turns out a big spike horn had jumped in front of car, went thru windshield, hit the guy in the chest and broke the bench front seat. The guys leg had hit the gear shift putting it into park.
When the old timer opened the rear doors, the guy had the deer by the horns, screaming bloody murder, covered in his own blood as the spike was tearing him up with all 4 hoofs going at once.

The constable feared shooting the guy accidentally, but eventually he got one hand on a spike and pulled the head back far enough so he could shoot it point blank in the head.
The guy was a local and survived without any major injuries except he had a chest covered in scars that resembled deer hoofs.
He was so shaken by the incident that he never drove at night again!

I don't even want to think about hitting a moose. One year saw a moose/car accident on way to Thunder Bay.
Little car, big moose. Moose was still alive, laying across the front seat area. Troopers shot the moose.
Two people in front seat were killed/decapitated when moose sheared of roof of car.

Same advice for moose as deer, except if you survive or come out un-hurt, your vehicle won't be going anywhere for awhile, if at all.

You have probably noticed that animals prefer certain nights over others. Full moons let us see but are really bright for the animal world. If you need to drive through the night and the deer are out, slow down or change your plans. The odds are stacked against you. During the rut you can get stopped and a deer or moose will run into the side of the vehicle, now that is what ticks me off.

I try and drive during the daylight hours......I slow right down at dusk and dawn.

Last year after the WCPP debacle I had a late start after the floatplane extraction of my boat and had a bit of a hard time getting someplace to hole up........even though I was expecting a deer and was on guard I still ended up rolling a fawn up underneath my truck.....felt a bit bad about it but I never swerve to try and avoid critters even though I root for them to get out of the way.

Why settle for one?

Consider tying your canoe on sideways next time.  You'd have a legit shot at all three.

Jimbo   

not sayin you.....but some people just think "oh look at the deer" as the whiz by at 60mph. ALWAYS assume that it will jump in front of you when you see it, and slowwww down. Some cannot be avoided, sadly, I know for a fact.

I know a guy who "died" three times on the operating table after a deer came through his windshield. His face is disfigured now but he is alive.

Grilled venison! mmm!

Depends a lot on the vehicle, the driver, circumstances, deer ... I guess. I hope my gunnels will rip off before/as the ropes broke, hood crinkled and airbags popped. On the bright side that could slow that mass down enough to prevent entry to the passenger compartment.

Watch Study the shoulders for eyes dusk and dawn - especially after seeing "jumping deer" and "charging moose" signs.

What sort of policy or even rider returns a new canoe? Market value replacement? Fine. New canoe? What an I missing???