Deer: Bikes are quiet. It didn't hear you. Even cars are a lot quieter than they used to be. Perhaps those "deer whistles" designed to mount on a car bumper, would help? I assume these whistle above human audible range, but I don't know about on a bike, and if the airspeed is enough to make them function.

Two-wheel long wheelbase recumbents should be as safe as a trike in a front collision (bike hitting a stationary obstacle, not a car hitting you), and the seat is higher, and they can ride a road edge better than a trike (track width is the problem cited by many Bike Friday owners, against using the suitcase-trailer). However on my LWB 'bent, the underseat steering handlebars stick out well beyond the already wide seat.

My current ride, a 20"/406 wheel folder with conventional riding position, it has the same overall length as a 700c race bike, but that means a significantly longer wheelbase; I can't get it to stand on its nose under hard front braking, like was possible on my racer. That also means less unloading of the rear tire under hard braking, so faster stops if needed.