Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe Tuesday advised motorists to slow down after sundown and before sunrise to reduce their risk of having a close encounter with a white-tailed deer.

Deer collisions are an annual occurrence that will continue through Thanksgiving week and begin to slow down in mid-December.  For the sake of public safety, the Game Commission is urging motorists to drive cautiously after dark for the next several months.

“The personal tragedies and property losses that are caused by deer-vehicle collisions touch the lives of Pennsylvanians statewide,” Roe said.  “It’s an unfortunate and often painful consequence of living with white-tailed deer.

“It’s also a shame to see whitetails killed on highways in the weeks before our biggest deer seasons. Obviously, many of these accidents are unavoidable because deer do step into the path of fast-moving vehicles. But driving defensively, or, at the very least, alertly, can give a motorist an edge in many instances.”

Roe noted that being knowledgeable about deer can help Pennsylvanians stay out of harm’s way.  He said that some deer aren’t paying close attention to what’s going on around them during the fall breeding season, commonly referred to as the “rut.”

“During the rut, deer are moving about more than usual,” Roe said.  “It’s a time when deer become preoccupied with finding the opposite sex or staying a few steps ahead of rival suitors. It’s a time when this summer’s fawns – left alone while does follow nature’s calling – sometimes naively wander into troublesome predicaments. It’s a time, quite frankly, when deer don’t seem to maintain the distance that typically keeps them from dangerously interacting with Pennsylvania motorists.”

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9/24/2012