Deer Can Cause Fatal Accidents

RIO GRANDE – When Moe and Curly Howard uttered their famous exchange, “Has the deer a little doe? Why sointenly, two bucks,” they were almost right on the money.
As the county finds itself settling into the height of autumn, white-tailed deer begin their mating season, and many of them find themselves running across roads in their search, not for money, but for love.
The state Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish and Wildlife is warning drivers to be alert for deer, especially during the morning and evening commuting hours when visibility is lessened and deer are more active.
According to DEP, studies of deer movement indicated the peak mating season for deer in the state show the most activity from late-October through December.
“Deer-vehicle accidents peak in November, as does the rut, or breeding season,” said Paul Curtis, Professor of Natural Resources at Cornell University in Ithaca NY. “Bucks are chasing does for breeding possibilities and deer are less attentive to traffic.”
In addition to more movement of the deer, adult white-tails coats change from the familiar reddish-brown to a duller gray-brown making them difficult to see in the shadowy hours of dawn and dusk.
White-tailed deer are the smallest members of the North American deer family. But that small deer may cause big damage when it makes contact with an automobile.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states there are 1.5 million car accidents involving deer per year. And, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the average collision cost for this type of accident is $2,800, with the figure leaping to $10,000 if injury is involved.
With an estimated 110,000 deer in huntable areas in the state, even more remain unaccounted for in places where hunting is not allowed. In 2010, there were almost 31,000 deer struck by vehicles throughout New Jersey.
“This is a tricky time of year for drivers,” said DEP supervising wildlife biologist Carol Stanko. “There are probably as many deer killed in New Jersey each year by cars and trucks than as by hunters.”
Lynne Irwin, Professor of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University said the key to highway safety during deer mating season is to “Slow down and be vigilant.”
According to Irwin, by slowing down, drivers can reduce the chance that the occupant of a vehicle will be seriously injured in the event of a deer-vehicle collision.
“The severity of the injury is proportional to the square of the speed,” said Irwin. “So cutting your driving speed in half reduces the severity of the impact to one-fourth.”
On Oct. 4, 2011 at 9:30 p.m. a vehicle driven by Joao Simoes, 22, of Newark collided with a deer on a Stockton State College roadway. After colliding with the deer, the vehicle left the roadway and struck several trees.
The crash claimed the life of Simoes’ passenger, 21-year-old Joseph Miller. Both men were students at the college. At the time of the crash, Simoes was issued a summons for reckless driving.
An investigation after the accident revealed Simoes was allegedly driving at a high rate of speed at the time of the collision, said a spokeswoman for the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.
On Oct. 23 of this year, an Atlantic County grand jury indicted Simoes on one count of vehicular homicide.
When confronted by a deer, Irwin advises drivers not to swerve the vehicle.
“The best place to hit a deer is in the flanks,” said the professor. “The rib bones in the flanks are more flexible and vehicular damage is minimized.”
Irwin added swerving the vehicle can result in roll-over accidents and drivers may hit an on-coming vehicle or roadside object.
“Most vehicles today have anti-lock brakes,” he said, “so slamming on the brakes has fewer consequences than what used to be the case. The objective is to reduce speed as much as possible before the collision and still maintain steering control in the vehicle.”
A deer running into a vehicle presents a different scenario.
“There isn’t much a motorist can do about that,” Irwin said. “While there may be costly damage to the side of the vehicle the occupants are unlikely to be badly injured in such cases. And often the deer lives, a bit sore perhaps and maybe a little bit smarter.”