Motorists should still watch out for Deer

Motorists should still watch out for roaming deer. The South Carolina Department of Public Safety reported approximately 2,400 deer-vehicle collisions in 2016. By following some common sense rules for driving defensively in deer country will make the trip safer, says Greg Lucas, Outreach Coordinator for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for the Upstate. “This is what biologist call the “rut” and early November is typically the time for the Upstate, they have it a little bit earlier in the lower parts of the state. Deer are breeding this time of year and they tend to move around a lot more and that brings them into potential contact with vehicles. It’s something we tell people to be vigilant of all the time, you never know when you are going to encounter a deer. You are much more likely to see deer on rural two lane roads and in areas where you are passing through deer habitats such as swamp lands or agricultural fields or places where deer are more likely to be present that’s when you really need to watch out. I would caution folks, anyone driving at dusk or dawn or at night, they really need to go the speed limit or maybe go a little bit below the speed limit if there is a chance that deer might be running across the road because if you do encounter a deer it happens instantaneously and you have very little time to react and if you are going the speed limit or a little bit below you really just have so much more reaction time to deal with a deer encounter.” Always anticipate another deer if you see one or more crossing the highway and do not expect the deer to get out of the way. Fortunately, deer-vehicle collisions typically involve damage to the vehicle rather than human injuries. Most serious injuries occur when the motorist looses control of the vehicle and hits an immovable object like a tree or embankment while attempting high-risk maneuvers to avoid a deer. If a collision with a deer is imminent, it is best to hit the deer rather than risk losing control of the vehicle. If you do hit a deer, report the incident to law enforcement and to your insurance company. Finally, many people wonder if they can keep the deer for consumption. You can as long as there is an incident report demonstrating that the deer was killed by a vehicle and not illegally shot.