Deer a driving danger this time of year

The holidays are a notoriously dangerous period for deer and drivers alike.

It’s mating season for the deer and hunting season for the humans. Besides that, drivers are traveling more to visit family and friends.

“(The deer) lose a lot of good sense,” said Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Officer Matt Majors, who works in Hamilton County. “They don’t just stay hidden. They chase the female deer a lot more. They’re out a lot more. Those particular ingredients are kind of a recipe for more car-versus-deer strikes.”

During the last five years, the state averaged 1,133 deer-car crashes in November and 702 in December, according to the Tennessee Department of Safety.

Georgia annually sees about 52,000 deer-vehicle collisions, said John Bowers, assistant chief of game management in the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division.

“The number of vehicles on the road can contribute to it,” he said. “How folks drive, whether they’re paying attention or texting going down the road obviously can play a role in that.”

Last November, there were 1,217 deer crashes in Tennessee, Department of Safety statistics show. One was fatal and 266 resulted in injuries.

“Deer pose a danger to drivers throughout the year, but especially in the fall,” Tennessee Highway Patrol Col. Mike Walker said in a news release. “In areas where deer are populated, it is important that drivers always slow down, pay attention and stay alert.”

Mr. Bowers said deer are most active at dawn and dusk, so that’s when drivers should be particularly alert.

Drivers in rural areas particularly are susceptible to deer crashes as urban growth encroaches into those areas.

Deer also are prompted to move by road construction projects and the construction occurring at the Volkswagen plant site at Enterprise South, formerly a home for much wildlife, Officer Majors said.

The TWRA tries to address deer populations by increasing the number deer harvested during hunting season, which runs from the last weekend in September through late January, Officer Majors said.

Sometimes the agency issues quota permits, for example, so hunters can shoot female deer to take them out of the population and prevent them from reproducing.

When deer and cars collide, the Tennessee Department of Transportation picks up any roadkill on state routes and interstates, said Jennifer Flynn, TDOT’s spokeswoman in the Chattanooga office.

If areas have been particularly prone to deer, the department puts up “deer crossing” signs.

“We put those up to give people a little bit of a heads-up that they should be on the lookout,” Ms. Flynn said.

In Georgia, the state’s Department of Transportation maintenance crew removes animals from state routes and interstates.