いやぁ、まったく避けられないこともあるのですね、シカとの激突事故。
　昨日は道南の紅葉旅から札幌までのクルマでの帰路。結局往復で900kmほどの旅でしたが、行きが余市〜ニセコ経由で黒松内ICから道央道なので、帰りは日本海側、江差方面を走って旧・熊石から八雲ICから高速に乗るルートを走行。
　で、午後２時頃熊石から雲石峡を抜けて平地に下りて、もうすぐ八雲ICという地点で左側草むらから突然、巨体のシカが目の前に飛び出してきた（！）。
　当方は高齢者ドライバーでもありほぼ制限速度前後の50-60km/時のHONDA-Vezel車両。
　感覚的には突然左から巨体があらわれ、咄嗟にブレーキを踏んだがまったく間に合わず、巨体に対して真横に正面フロント前面側が激突して、シカは前方に横転して右側車線脇にヨコになった。幸い減速できたので前面ガラスへの激突は避けられた。当方は急ブレーキでほぼその衝突位置で緊急停止。
　衝突の瞬間の衝撃波はかなりの重量感で少なくとも体重200kgくらいの感覚だった。丸々と太った巨体。
　シカはその後立ち上がり右手の収穫後の畑地に自力で下りて行って数回こちら方向を見返しながら畑の向こう側の緑地に姿を消した。わたしは「ドラレコ」を付けていないので、写真はWEBからの参考画像。道路写真もGoogleのMapの想定現場の画像です。

　その状況からクルマの状態をチェック。左方前方の照明が破損し、前面の車両ナンバープレートも衝撃で脱落。その奥のプラ部分も飛散してしまっていた。ボンネットも一部が破損していたが、一度開けたら「締まらなくなる」ことが目視的に確認できたので、そのままにして、運転可能かどうか確認したところ、それ自体は問題ない状況。
　そこでHONDAの八雲の店舗に連絡し車両チェックしてもらうことに。カミさんと同行なので同時に保険会社に連絡し、各所と事故処理の連絡応答作業を並行させた。まぁこんな経験は初めてだったけれど、必要な処理作業のあらかたは片付けることができた。
　HONDAの店舗でチャックしてもらってエンジンなど運転走行自体には支障がないことを確認。脱落した車両ナンバープレートを応急的にビス留めしてもらい、一路札幌までの200kmを帰還することに。この時期なので午後４時前にはライトを点灯しますが、４つのフロント照明のうち１個は発光できない。
　そういう状況なので高速道路は避け一般道を走行。なかなかに注意が要求される車両状態で緊張感MAXでしたが、なんとか無事に午後６時ころ帰還することができました。
　
　ふと気付いていたのですが、保険会社としては「警察への届出」は特段必要がない、ということも確認。相手が相手なので、そういう対応とのこと。しかし、シカとの衝突事故では予測回避は不可能の場合が多いこともよくわかりました。みなさんもくれぐれもお気を付け下さい。
本日から、本格的に「事故処理・今後の対応」を進めていきたいと思います。

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English version⬇

[Accident Involving a Deer on National Route 277, Just Before the Yakumo Interchange from Kumaiishi]
A sudden, violent collision. It was clear that there was no way to avoid it. A lesson learned. The deer appeared to have survived. Its gaze as it looked back at me was striking. Now, time to handle the aftermath…

　Well, I guess there really are some things you just can’t avoid—like a head-on collision with a deer.
Yesterday, I was driving back to Sapporo from a fall foliage trip in southern Hokkaido. The round trip ended up being about 900 km. Since I’d taken the route from Yoichi to Niseko via the Kuromatsunai Interchange on the Central Hokkaido Expressway on the way there, I decided to take the route along the Sea of Japan coast toward Esashi on the way back, getting on the expressway at the Yakumo Interchange via the former Kumaiishi area.
　So, around 2:00 p.m., after passing through Kumoi Gorge from Kumoi and descending to the flatlands, just as I was about to reach the Yakumo Interchange, a massive deer suddenly leaped out right in front of me from the grassy area on the left (!).
　I’m an elderly driver, and I was in a Honda Vezel traveling at about 50–60 km/h—roughly the speed limit.
　It felt like this massive creature suddenly appeared from the left; I slammed on the brakes instinctively, but it was far too late. The front of my car collided head-on with the deer’s side, and the deer was thrown forward, rolling over and coming to rest on its side next to the right lane. Fortunately, I had managed to slow down, so a direct impact with the windshield was avoided. I came to an emergency stop almost at the exact point of impact due to the sudden braking.
　The shockwave at the moment of impact felt incredibly heavy—at least as if I were hitting something weighing 200 kg. It was a plump, massive creature.
The deer then got back on its feet and walked down on its own into a harvested field on the right, glancing back in my direction several times before disappearing into the greenery beyond the field. Since I don’t have a dashcam, the photo is a reference image from the web. The road photo is also an image from Google Maps showing the presumed scene of the incident.

　Given the situation, I checked the condition of the car. The left front headlight was broken, and the front license plate had fallen off due to the impact. The plastic parts behind it had also shattered. Part of the hood was damaged as well, but I could see just by looking that if I opened it, it “wouldn’t close again,” so I left it as is. When I checked to see if the car was drivable, it turned out to be fine on its own.
　So I contacted the Honda dealership in Yakumo to have the vehicle inspected. Since my wife was with me, I also contacted the insurance company at the same time and handled the back-and-forth communication with all parties regarding the accident settlement in parallel. Well, it was my first time dealing with something like this, but I managed to take care of most of the necessary procedures.
At the Honda dealership, they inspected the vehicle and confirmed that there were no issues with the engine or the vehicle’s drivability. They temporarily secured the detached license plate with screws, and we set off on the 200-kilometer drive back to Sapporo. Since it was this time of year, we turned on our headlights before 4:00 p.m., but one of the four headlights wasn’t working.
Given the situation, we avoided the highway and drove on regular roads. The car’s condition required a great deal of caution, so I was on edge the whole time, but we managed to return safely around 6:00 p.m.
　
　It suddenly occurred to me, and I confirmed that, from the insurance company’s perspective, there was no particular need to “report the incident to the police.” Given the nature of the other party involved, that was their recommended course of action. However, I also came to fully understand that in collisions with deer, it is often impossible to predict and avoid them. Please be very careful, everyone.
Starting today, I plan to move full steam ahead with “accident processing and next steps.”

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Available on Amazon.

Posted on 11月 6th, 2026 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 未分類