PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Pennsylvania drivers see a lot of deer on the road all year round.
But the Pennsylvania Game Commission says now is the time to be more alert behind the wheel because deer are becoming more active and it’s getting dark earlier.
“We’re in that time of year again where deer-vehicle collisions are bound to increase,” said Travis Lau, communications director for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
The white-tailed deer breeding season, also known as the rut, is starting.
“During the rut, the bucks will really increase their movements during the day compared to other times a year. And they’ll cover a lot more ground, too. They’ll come out of their core areas. They’ll roam into new areas. It’s all in search of receptive things,” Lau said.
“The younger males are pushed out of their area to kind of find their own habitat. They may travel a few miles to find that spot, and adult males will do that,” Lt. Andy said. Harvey, information and education supervisor and state game warden for the Pennsylvania Game Commission Southwest Region.
To make matters worse, we’ll be setting our clocks back one hour when daylight saving time ends on Sunday. Harvey and Lau talked about how it behooves drivers to be extra vigilant between sunset and sunrise.
“Scanning from the road, from shoulder to shoulder, at night looking for that reflective glowing green eye of a white-tailed deer,” Lau said.
They said to also pay attention to deer crossing signs.
“Those tend to be placed in areas where we see a higher number of deer versus vehicle crashes,” Harvey said.
“Deer often travel in groups and often in separate lines. So if a deer crosses the road, it doesn’t necessarily mean the danger has passed. There could be another behind it,” Lau said.
According to PennDOT reports, there were 309 deer-related vehicle crashes in Allegheny County in 2023, most of them in Pennsylvania. Allegheny County has led the state in that regard since at least 2004.
“One thing we’re considering is an extended hunting season in those areas just because of the large population, and there’s a limited area where these deer can actually be hunted. So we’re trying to give hunters a longer window of time to be more successful be,” Harvey said.
When a deer darts in front of your car, you can feel like a deer in the headlights.
“It really comes down to the driver’s basic judgment and making good decisions,” Lau said.
Do not swerve and brake sharply if there is enough time. Every situation is different.
“Try to come to a complete stop as quickly as possible. But I would rather just go straight and hit the deer than try to swerve and run into another vehicle or a barrier, which could potentially make things worse,” said Harvey.
If you hit a deer with your car, you do not have to report it to the Game Commission unless it seriously injures it or poses a safety hazard on the road.
If a deer dies after a crash, Pennsylvania residents can make a claim by calling the Game Commission at 1-833-742-4868 or 1-833-742-9453 within 24 hours of taking possession of the deer.
