Police Warn Motorists Of Deer Collisions

Police are urging drivers to exercise extra care while driving now through December because it is the deer migration and mating season, increasing the possibility of motor vehicle accidents involving deer which are crossing roadways.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s accident statistics indicate that about 150 people die annually in the United States due to deer-related accidents, according to Newtown Police Sergeant Aaron Bahamonde.

According to Newtown motor vehicle accident statistics, there were 58 deer collisions in 2011, 67 such accidents in 2010, 67 deer-related accidents in 2009, and 99 such collisions in 2008.

According to police:

*Deer tend to be most active between 6 and 9 pm.

*As much as is possible, motorists should drive with their high-beam headlamps on in the nighttime to illuminate the areas alongside the sides of the road from which deer will enter the roads.

*Deer typically travel in groups, making it likely that if a motorist sees one deer, other deer are probably nearby.

*Motorists should not rely on using vehicle-mounted “deer whistles” as a deer deterrent because such devices may not be effective in warding off deer.

Police urge that motorists not swerve in seeking to avoid colliding with a deer. Such swerving may cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle. Swerving may put the vehicle into the path of an oncoming vehicle. Swerving may cause the vehicle to strike a tree or to overturn.

If a collision with a deer cannot be avoided, the driver should slow the vehicle and firmly grasp the steering wheel with both hands. The driver should take their foot off the brake pedal at the time of impact to allow the vehicle to roll over the deer. Otherwise, the impact may cause the deer to rise upward and possibly crash through the windshield.

Police urge motorists who have either injured or killed a deer in a vehicular collision to notify them at the police station at 203-426-5841.