The Indiana Department of Transportation is reminding motorists to stay alert for deer crossing local roadways.
Half of deer-related accidents in Indiana occur between October and December. This is largely due to farmers harvesting their fields, but also a more active population of deer as a result of their mating season.
In Indiana in 2015, there were more than 15-thousand deer-related collisions. INDOT says knowing when and where deer are most active can be a big help to drivers.
Deer are typically traveling around sunrise or sunset and travel in groups. The state says to pay attention to deer crossing signs, and exercise caution near wooded lots.
A less intuitive recommendation is to not swerve in an attempt to miss a deer. Crashes often become more serious when a driver attempts to miss a deer, striking another car, or leaving the roadway.
If a deer is struck, the state recommends not touching the carcass. To report a deer on the roadway, INDOT says to contact one of their six districts to clean it from the pavement.
