The Wisconsin Bureau of Transportation Safety offers a number of tips that could help motorists avoid a close encounter with deer;
1. Be vigilant, drive cautiously in early morning and evening hours; the most active time for deer.
2. Always wear your safety belt. There are fewer and less severe injuries in vehicle/deer crashes when safety belts are worn.
3. Pay attention to deer crossing signs.
4. If you see a deer by the side of the road, slow down and blow your horn with one long blast to frighten the deer away.
5. When you see one deer, look for another one. Deer seldom run alone.
6. If you see a deer looming in your headlights, don’t expect the deer to move away. Headlights can confuse a deer and cause the animal to freeze.
7. If you hit a deer, get your vehicle off the road if possible and then call a law enforcement agency. Walking on a highway is dangerous, so stay in your vehicle if you can.
8. Do not try to move the animal if it is still alive. The injured deer could hurt you.
Motorists also need to recognize that collisions involving deer don’t just happen in rural areas. In the past, car/deer accidents have been reported in urban areas of Door County, in cities and in villages. Typically, Door County experiences about 300 collisions every year.
