Swerving to hit something is as stupid as swerving to miss. I take no evasive action at all if it's a critter smaller than a deer and mobile. (You can never predict what they'll do, anyway.) Skunks are the exception, for obvious reasons - I will try to miss them if it doesn't mean huge swerving.
Deer or larger I'll brake straight ahead. Again, it is not possible to predict which way they'll go at the last moment anyway. I have hit two deer (both within a five-mile stretch one morning!) One I chose to dispatch humanely and the other one I could not find. How hard I brake is directly proportional to the size of the animal. I do NOT want a moose or elk coming through the windshield.
I taught both of my daughters the same strategy.
