Safety officials remind drivers to be cautious about deer on roadways
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Fall months, like October and November, are peak months for deer activity.
Deer are most active during dawn and dusk. Shane Hux, Sergeant with the Missouri State Highway patrol said deer movement can be unpredictable.
"Like I said, they just go wherever they want to go," Hux said. "That's what's so unpredictable, I mean, you may see them standing on a certain side of the road thinking they're going to go one direction when actually they turn and come toward the vehicle," he said.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol reports Missouri consistently ranks 10th to 15th in the country in deer-vehicle collisions each year.
In 2024, there were 2,952 crashes with deer, with four deaths and 420 injuries reported. In Buchanan County, there 39 crashes involving deer.
Matthew Stein, MoDot area engineer for the Northwest District said if you see a deer you should not swerve.
"We don't want to swerve to avoid a deer because if you swerve, you could end up into oncoming traffic or you could swerve off the road and you could potentially overturn your vehicle," Stein said.
Hux said if a driver hit a deer they can call MSHP or MoDot to help remove the deer carcass off the road.
"So it's important that we remove those from the roadway and then we can contact Modoc," he said. Or if we have a trooper in the area, we can dispatch a trooper over to that area and at least remove it from the roadway, Hux said.
Stein gives a few safety tips to driver to avoid collisions with deer.
"Always remember the buckle up, phone down. You want to watch your speed, you don't want to drive too distracted and always try to stay alert," he said. If you see one deer, you should always expect to see other deer around that one. And when you're driving, you don't want to fall too closely to the person in front of you because they could make a sudden stop avoiding a deer, Stein said.
