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 heighten risk of collisions or near misses.
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 offer the following tips for dealing with deer on the roadways:
10 Safety tips for dealing with deer
Understand Deer
1. Deer accidents peak in May, and October to December
2. Sunset to midnight and around sunrise are the worst times
3. Some areas have bigger problems than others – are you in one?
4. The “deer” or “wild animal” sign is there for a reason and means “deer cross this road”.
Change the way you drive
5. 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.
6. Nature makes them hard to see and they don’t follow the safe cross code!
7. 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.
8. 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
9. Make sure that you stop somewhere safe, and if you can’t, do your best to ensure that your accident isn’t hit by other vehicles.
10. Report the accident to the Garda (who should be able to contact someone who can assist an injured deer).