Plenty of hunters took to the woods this weekend to try and harvest a deer.
Meanwhile, many drivers are trying to avoid them this time of year. AAA’s Jana Tidwell says we’re in mating season for deer, which can cause problems for drivers.
“With that comes a rising number of vehicle crashes,” Tidwell said. “AAA urges motorists to slow down and pay attention.”
AAA also suggests drivers use the following tips to help prevent a crash or to reduce the damage from a collision:
- Stay alert and pay attention to road signs while driving. Areas with high levels of deer activity will often have yellow, diamond-shaped signs with an image of a deer.
- Use high beams when there is no oncoming traffic. Generally, the light reflecting off their eyes will reveal their location and flicking your high beams will often cause the animal to scurry away.
- Deer rarely travel alone; if one is seen, there are likely more, so slow down and watch for other deer to appear.
- Swerving away from animals can confuse them so they don’t know which way to run and can also put your car in the path of oncoming vehicles, so resist the urge to swerve. Instead, stay in your lane with both hands firmly on the wheel.
- If the crash is imminent, drivers should remove their foot from the brake. During hard braking, the front end of a vehicle is pulled downward which can cause the animal to travel up over the hood toward the windshield. Letting off the brake can protect drivers from windshield strikes because the animal is more likely to be pushed to one side of the vehicle or over the top of the vehicle.
- Always wear a seat belt. The chances of being injured when hitting an animal are much higher if the driver is not wearing a seatbelt.
Tidwell says deer are most active in between 5 to 8 a.m. and 5 to 8 p.m.
