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News Brief

Oct. 3, 2018Maryville, MO |  By: Dontaydra Hooker Bowens

MO Highway Patrol advises drivers about deer strikes

Last year Missouri drivers were involved in 4,070 traffic crashes that were caused by deer-strikes. Director of the Public Information Education Division of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, John Hotz says motor vehicle accidents with deer mainly happen in October and November.

"Yeah, you look at of course we have the harvest time where the farmeres are getting the crops out which gets the deer moving around.  We have hunting season that starts this time of year.  Then of course we have mating season during the month of November.  So all those things together, get the deer out and really moving around.  Again you may see them in places where they may not typically be seen.  So again, this is just to raise everybody's awareness about the fact they may see more deer, to be cautious, and to be careful."

Hotz also says motorists should not over-react when coming up on a deer. 

"We ask that you don't panic and you don't overcorrect.  The best things to do is to slow down gradually if you can do so.  But not to do anything that's going to cause you to lose control of the car or affect the traffic around you. For example, if you just stop as quickly as you can, if there's a car behind you, they may actucally hit your from behind.  Also, a lot of people, their first tendency is just to slam on the breaks as hard as they can.  If you do that, the front of the car actually goes down a little bit which could cause the deer to come up onto the hood or into the passenger compartment."

Hotz adds there were seven fatalities and 400 injuries from accidents involving deer last year.