Donegal County Council, in cooperation with Coillte, National Parks and Wildlife Service, Donegal Branch of the Irish Deer Society and the Garda, today issued a seasonal warning to drivers to be on the lookout for deer who may wander on to roads at the peril of oncoming motorists.
“Drivers need to understand a little about deer, to think about how they can change their driving to avoid them, and to understand what to do if they do hit and injure one." warned Donegal County Council’s Road Safety Officer Eamonn Brown. "Their best bet is to heed the warning signs erected where deer are known to cross and to always drive at a speed that gives you time to react to anything that may suddenly appear in the road.
Reports of collisions between deer and vehicles seem to be on the increase due to the wider distribution of deer in the county and the large volume of traffic on our roads, especially early morning. Most accidents occur between dusk and dawn. Deer often travel at night and are easily spooked by oncoming headlights. When seeing the oncoming lights, deer may appear to freeze and then sprint in front of the oncoming vehicle at the last second.
As the breeding season begins in early October and continues until early November, increased movement can be expected at this time and this can lead to a heightened risk of collisions or near misses. Joe Gatins of the National Parks & Wildlife Service said: " Wild deer can be found on any road in County Donegal. Drivers will have to recognise this and drive with due caution. These wild animals are to be found both in the lowland areas as well as the traditional upland or hilly areas of the county. I can only ask that drivers anticipate the likelihood of increased risk of accident in areas where deer are known to occur. Best advice: SLOW DOWN It could save YOUR life!”
According to the Donegal Branch of the Irish Deer Society, a mature red deer stag (males) can weigh up to 160kg (350lb) and hinds (females) will average about 30% lighter. So even at low speed they can cause considerable damage to a vehicle and potentially cause life-threatening injuries to the driver and their passengers.
Donegal County Council in association with the other stakeholders offers the following tips for dealing with deer on the roadways:
10 Safety tips for dealing with deer
Understand Deer
- Deer accidents peak in May, and October to December
- Sunset to midnight and around sunrise are the worst times
- Some areas have bigger problems than others – are you in one?
- The “deer” or “wild animal” sign is there for a reason and means “deer cross this road”.
Change the way you drive
- Remember that however well you can read the road and however far you can see there is no traffic, a deer can appear almost instantly.
- Nature makes them hard to see and they don’t follow the green cross code.
- Use full beam headlamps when it is dark – unless of course you are about to dazzle another driver. Dip them if you see a deer, otherwise it may “freeze” in you path.
- Though your instinct will be to swerve or brake hard to try to avoid a deer if one appears suddenly in your path, it may be better to continue on your normal track - sudden manoeuvres can result in a loss of control, increasing the risk of hitting a tree or another vehicle and causing serious injury to you and your passengers.
If the worst happens
- Make sure that you stop somewhere safe, and if you can’t, do your best to ensure that you won’t be the cause of another accident.
- Report the accident to the Gardai (who should be able to contact someone who can assist an injured deer).