(Undated)– It’s that time of year again. Deer are on the move with the harvest under way and hunting seasons starting up. With that, motorists are being urged to use extreme caution…especially in the morning and evening when deer are most active.
Gail Weinholzer of Triple A Minnesota/Iowa says they’re teaming up with the Iowa Department of Public Safety for an awareness campaign titled “Don’t Veer For Deer”.
Weinholzer says many motorists make the mistake of trying to avoid deer, opting to crash into things such as signs and trees instead. She says the severity of such crashes is worse than if you would have hit the animal.
Weinholzer says the numbers of car/deer accidents continue to increase along with the number of vehicles on the roads and the increasing deer herd.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources estimates this year’s deer herd at over 700-thousand.
In 2000, the most recent year for which statistics are available, Weinholzer says there were more than eight thousand reported deer/vehicle collisions in Iowa. Of those, she says there were 600 personal injuries; two deaths and more than 13 million dollars in property damage.
