diff --git a/lib/default-encoding.js b/lib/default-encoding.js
index 4404fd2..5e16333 100644
--- a/lib/default-encoding.js
+++ b/lib/default-encoding.js
@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@ var defaultEncoding
 if (process.browser) {
   defaultEncoding = 'utf-8'
 } else if (process.version) {
-  var pVersionMajor = parseInt(process.version.split('.')[0].slice(1), 10)
-
+  if(process.version.length > 0){
+    var pVersionMajor = parseInt(process.version.split('.')[0].slice(1), 10)
+  }
   defaultEncoding = pVersionMajor >= 6 ? 'utf-8' : 'binary'
 } else {
   defaultEncoding = 'utf-8'