Speaking from experience, hitting a steer weighing 800+ pounds is not fun. Bent everything on the right side of a six month old 1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass except the front door. Rounded a corner on a back road on a dark moonless night and the car jumped sideways. Didn't know what I had hit until I got out of the car. Angus steer and I never saw it until after the wreck.
High school friend of mine hit a large horse doing about 80 in a hotrod 1957 Chevy. The top was smashed down level with the hood and trunk on the passenger side over to a couple feet from the driver's door where his head was. He was unhurt. Engine was knocked loose. Wife (girlfriend at the time) and I walked a couple hundred feet down the road from where the car came to a stop and found one of the horse's large leg bones completely stripped of meat laying in the middle of the road. The next day his brother, who came to the wreck scene, realized that one of his horses was missing. It was around five miles from the home farm when hit.
If I see cattle or horses or anything else out I ALWAYS stop and tell or call if I know who they belong to. Could save a life or lives.
Dad and I spent two summers fencing the entire farm and we never had cattle get out. Don't know if it is true but back then I was told that if you hit a cow or pig and your vehicle was damaged it was the farmer's fault for letting it get out. If you hit a dog and your vehicle was damaged it was tough luck. At least in Kentucky.
RSKY