Point Reyes Light - November 26, 2003
Car-deer collisions up here & rest of US
By Ivan Gale
West Marin motorists will soon see fewer deer along local roadways, as the annual rutting season is drawing to a close. Meanwhile, a new study calculated traffic accidents involving deer in the US kill 150 people annually and cause $1.1 billion in property damage, and injuring some 10,000 people.
Though deer are seen at night and during the twilight hours on West Marin roads all year round, they cover the greatest areas during the mating season, which runs from October to mid-November.
During that time, said Nathalie Gates of the Point Reyes National Seashore, male deer, or bucks, can travel as much as 10 square miles in search of does each mating season.
Over the last four weeks, The Light’s Sheriff’s Calls shows deputies were called nine times to dispatch a wounded deer or remove a dead deer from the road in West Marin.
Lt. Ritch Ginnodo, commander of the West Marin substation, told The Light that driving at a reasonable speed is the best way to avoid accidents.He noted the physics behind striking a deer at 50 miles per hour compared with 25 miles per hour is not multiplied by two, but by four.
Ginnodo said he instructs everyone, including deputies stationed in West Marin, to slow down.
Twice in the last month, sheriff’s deputies themselves struck deer that darted in front of patrolcars.
Driving guidelines set out by State Farm Insurance offer these recommendations:
• Be aware of your surroundings. Pay attention to "deer crossing" signs. Look well down the road and far off to each side. At night, use your high-beam lights if possible to illuminate the road’s edges. Be especially watchful in areas near woods and water. If you see one deer, there may be several others nearby.
• Be particularly alert at dusk and dawn, when these animals venture out to feed.
• If you see a deer on or near the roadway and think you have time to avoid hitting it, reduce your speed, tap your brakes to warn other drivers, and sound your horn. Deer tend to fixate on headlights, so flashing them may cause the animal to move. If there’s no vehicle behind you, brake hard.
• If a collision seems inevitable, don’t swerve to avoid the animal; your risk of injury may be greater if you do. Hit it, but control the vehicle. Report the accident to the police.
• Always obey the speed limit and wear safety belts.