AAA Warns To Be More Aware As Deer Mating Season Begins

This is the time of year when drivers should be even more cautious than normal. It's deer mating season and that, along with the upcoming time change, means an increase in car crashes for the fall and winter months.

According to AAA, a driver crashed into a deer once every two hours between October and December in 2020. Approximately 1,400 crashes happened during those months, most occurring between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. before the time change. Afterwards, the majority of crashes happened between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The chances of running into a deer on the road are very high right now because they're on the move. Deer mating season is underway and runs through December which means more deer are roving about. The upcoming time change will only increase that number.

AAA recommends that if a deer is in your path, don't swerve. Instead, use your brakes. Swerving just confuses the animal so they don't know what way to run. Swerving also puts you in the path of possible oncoming traffic or other hazards.

You can also try simply laying on your horn to scare the deer away. If you do end up hitting a deer, try to get your vehicle to a safe location as quickly as possible. AAA reminds drivers to slow down, scan off-road areas, and if you see one deer, it's more than likely there are more nearby.

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