OH DEAR ROE DEER!
I thought fellow caravaners might be interested to see the recent damage caused to our caravan as we were towing through France after our recent late summer break. It happened mid-morning on a sunny Sunday in Mid-September as we were travelling northwards through open countryside south of Poitiers, when a Roe Deer (Chevreuil) decided to leap across the road and collided with the front off-side corner of our caravan, smashing the front panel and off-side front window. The shattered window also damaged some of the interior woodwork. It took us 1½ hours to clean everything up and make the ‘van towable using two rolls of duct tape and heavy duty rubble sacks. We have towed through France for many years and have often seen the “Beware of Deer” signs but have never actually seen any deer near the roads before. We are insured through the Caravan Club and have been impressed with the efficient and speedy manner in which our claim has been processed. We are currently waiting for the repairer to obtain the parts via Bailey and as of Christmas they were still waiting for the wooden window frames, so I don’t think we’ll be doing any touring early next year! Luckily, neither of us were hurt although the deer didn’t make it!
The moral of this story:- (1) make sure you are insured with a reputable company. (2) always carry a roll of duct tape and strong polythene sacks. (3) be patient when having a major repair done to your caravan.
Comments
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We have also joked about the "deer signs" in France having taken our holidays there for a number of years. We always thought it was a precautionary sign, obviously not ! Thank goodness you are all ok. The caravan will live to tell the tale I am sure.
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According to what I've read since the 'deer' incident, "La Chasse" (the hunting season) starts in France on the first Sunday in September so the countryside is full of scary looking blokes armed with all sorts of rifles accompanied by their hounds. So perhaps
the best advice is to steer clear of rural roads at weekends during early September!!0 -
A deer attempted ro vault over our car a couple of years ago in France. This was on a fairly busy N road just outside a town in a semi-rural location. We had actually seen deer near there in the past. In our case there was no real damage done to the car
and the deer ran off. My advice is keep your eyes open, deer may appear from a hedgerow anywhere in France!0
