Updated March 2023
Whether you drive frequently in and around wooded areas or you're a city dweller that only ventures out once in a blue moon, the prospect of hitting a deer with your car is a scary thought.
Unfortunately, deer-vehicle collisions are common, to the tune of 1.6 million accidents per year according to the Insurance Information Institute. But it's not just an inconvenience. Deer accidents lead to hundreds of deaths, tens of thousands of injuries and billions of dollars in vehicle damage each year. And as you venture out each and every day, you never know when you'll be affected by a deer-car accident. Statistics tells us that, sure, the likelihood of hitting a deer is actually pretty low. But at night and during the fall mating season as days become shorter and deer venture out earlier, accidents spike, which can do more than just ruin your day.
Many of those accidents lead toinjuries and most lead to costly vehicle repairs. Deer have overpopulated thecountry and that means there are more of them than ever. Deer move around a lotand when their habitats are disturbed or when roads are constructed in them,they tend to ignore danger and follow their instinct to travel as needed forfood, safety, and mates.
Making matters worse, the Highway Data Loss Institute reports that while deer accidents have held steady over the years, costs to motorists have risen dramatically, primarily due to the increasing cost of delicate car components that must be wholly replaced when they're damaged -- and crumple zones that favor the destruction of car parts rather than sending the extraordinary car-crash forces into the cabin to the occupants inside. Make no mistake, it's great for the health of drivers and their passengers, but it also means that even the most innocuous fender-bender can lead to associated costs well into the thousands, and sometimes even into the tens of thousands or render your vehicle inoperable or, worse yet, totaled.
But we all know that the risk of an auto accident is a given in today's world. It's all about how you manage that risk, and some preparation, quick thinking and the prevalence of basic and advanced technology can help drivers wholly avoid or minimize their next encounter with a deer.
Driversare always looking for new ways to protect themselves from wildlife accidentsand deer vehicle collisions. Using bright headlights and deer whistles thatattach to the front of a vehicle and make noise are a few options, but thosedon’t work well and usually do very little to prevent an accident. You can’tcount on fear to prevent deer from running in front of your car. It’s up to youto be alert and know where they are so you can stop your vehicle to avoid thedanger of hitting deer while driving.
Whyare deer attracted to roads? Why do deer get hit by cars?
Manydeer that live near roads and highways that have a lot of traffic becomeaccustomed to the sounds of moving vehicles. Deer often graze in fields andpastures near highways or woodland areas near country roads. Deer also travelacross these roads to find mates or food. They either learn that they aredangerous and choose to avoid the roadways or they stop fearing them andeventually wander out onto the roads where they can cause accidents.
Deerthat are not accustomed to the sounds of cars may be spooked by the noise. Deerrun without thinking when scared and can unknowingly run in the direction ofthe sound instead of away from it. Once they get to a road, they become evenmore scared and often panic, which can cause them to freeze or even run towardsa vehicle.
WhereDo Deer Live and Why Do They Move?
Deermove around to find food, but they also have more secure areas where they liketo bed down or sleep. They prefer to stay deeper in the forest where they feelsafe in the summer and early fall when they can hide behind leaves and thickplants. When the leaves start to die and fall from trees, they feel moreexposed to danger and are move likely to move around. They also look for freshfood. During the rutting season, both males and females are on the move. Theymay behave oddly, and many male deer are so focused on finding a mate that theypay very little attention to anything around them.
Seasonalchanges like this can bring deer near busy roadways. It’s not uncommon to seedeer feeding on the side of a highway or road, especially in the early morehours or at night. You may also see deer traveling in herds, depending on thetime of year. More deer moving and large groups of deer traveling together canlead to more wildlife collision accidents.
WhyDo Deer Jump in Front of Cars? Also, why do deer like running in front of cars?
Deerdon’t jump in front of cars deliberately. Most are spooked by the sounds of thetraffic and become confused as to which way to run. They may dart out in frontof cars, stand still in the road, and even run towards moving vehicles whenthey mean to run away from them. Deer also jump in front of cars while tryingto cross roadways. They may be trying to cross to find food, to get back to thespot where they bed down, or to find a mate.
Headlightsconfuse deer, especially at night. When they look into the lights, they aretemporarily blinded which can cause them to stand without moving or run blindlyin a random direction. When new roads are built in existing deer habitats, thedeer may continue to travel their usual routes and distances without understandingthat there is any danger. The biggest reason deer jump in front of cars isbecause they are scared.
HowCan an Early Warning System Will Help Prevent Accidents?
Sinceusing whistles and lights only make deer more likely to be startled when thecar approaches, it best to use an early warning system that alerts the driverthat a deer is on the road or nearby, instead of alerting the deer that the caris coming. An early warning system can let you know there is wildlife or apedestrian in the road so you can stop your car or pull over to avoid deerwhile driving.
HowOur Thermal Camera Can Help Avoid Wildlife Collision
Ourthermal driving camera is designed to help prevent deer accidents. The Speedirthermal camera attaches to your vehicle and scans the road in front of youwhile you are driving. Thanks to Thermal night vision for driving, it couldrecognize pedestrians or wildlife before your headlights shine on them. Thecamera can even see through fog, smoke, dust, and poor weather conditions.
Notonly does our early warning system tell you if there is wildlife nearby, butthe built-in artificial intelligence can also identify the object and even givea visible and audible warning up to 400 feet away. There is even a codeddistance warning that tells you if the wildlife on the road is close, medium,or far away. It works on any type of vehicle and connects to any automotivescreen to display a video feed.
Bythe time your headlights spot a deer, it may already be in the road and ormoving towards your vehicle too fast for you to stop. No amount of lights ordeer whistles can prevent you from hitting a deer or keep a scared deer fromrunning in front of cars. Our NightOwl Plus Vehicle Thermal Night Vision Camera with AI can help you see a deerbefore it’s on the road or as it’s approaching the road. Since it can detectheat and motion from a great distance, you will have plenty of time to stop toavoid a deer collision. If you are hoping to avoid hitting a deer, our thermaldriving camera may be right for you.
Howto Avoid Hitting a Deer
Especiallyif you live in one of the more densely deer populated sections of America, thespecter of an impending deer collision can cause anxiety on the road—and that’sone of the better things it can cause.
Basedon the results of a study performed by the National Highway Traffic Safetyadministration, over 1 million deer accidents involving cars happen yearly inUnited States. At least 200 of those are fatal for the deer, the persons in the car,or both. It’s in everyone’s best interest, then, to establish best practices soyou don't end up saying, "I hit a deer" after a deer vehiclecollision.
However,the steps to prevent one of these tragedies may not be as foolproof as youthink. Read on for a comprehensive list of strategies—and the one that werecommend the most! Note that it’s probably a good idea to implement all ofthese ideas into your driving routine.
Waysto Stop Wildlife Accidents From Happening
DriveDefensively During Peak Deer Hours. Wherever you’re driving, whetherit be suburbia or a rural mountain road, you definitely need to look up whichhours are likely to be the ones that deer are more active. These can vary fromplace to place, but a typical set of peak deer hours would be the hours betweensunset and midnight as well as the hours just after sunrise.If you're driving between the hours of 6pm and 9pm, especially in wooded areas or close to where deer live, mate or travel, please slow down. At higher speeds, our reaction times are limited, and reduced visibility at dusk further exacerbates the likelihood of hitting a deer. During those times, be sure to be on the lookout for wildlife trying tocross the road — especially just around turns, and especially if the forestcomes straight up to the edge of the road.
BeExtra Careful When Driving Through a Protected Deer Crossing Zone. If a specific walkway hasbeen noted where deer tend to cross a street, know that that sign is there fora reason! These signs have been placed in places where deer were noted to be inlarge populations and have needs to get from one side of the road to the other— so the likelihood that you’ll see a deer there is relatively high.Posted signs usually indicate prior accidents, close calls and sightings, so you should be extra vigilant when traveling on these roads, particularly at dawn or dusk or in the fall when mating season picks up.Be extracognizant of your driving habits while in these areas! It’s also a good idea tolook up whether your destination or the places through which you’ll be drivinghave naturally high deer populations; that’ll help guide you as you take youraccident-free journey.
BeAware that Deer Tend to Run in Packs. Humans are social creatures; so, asit turns out, are deer. This means that if you see one deer running by the sideof the road, there’s likely one or more around that you don’t see! As deer arevery quick, nimble creatures, even if the deer is running on the road besideyou, they can easily dart out into the road in front of you with precisely zeronotice. If there’s a deer anywhere on the road near you, you should likely stopor slow—they may have friends nearby who you’re not even tracking! Always erron the side of caution when it comes to driving near deer.If you see an animal on the side of the road, even if it's not a deer, be alert. Where there's one, there's likely more, and deer and other animals mostly travel and congregate in groups.
ProtectYourself and Nearby Deer with Your High Beams: You may already know this,but it’s a good practice to double down on when it comes to protecting deer,your car, and your life. If you’re driving around a windy road late at night,and you’re the only car on the road — switch on your high beams. While it’s nota good idea to use these beams in traffic, when you’re alone they can reallyhelp illuminate the woods and road around you (including making deer’s shinyeyes really pop, which can give you a head’s up you wouldn’t have hadotherwise.) Make sure to switch off your beams if there’s any oncoming traffic,though!
UseYour Horn as a Helpful Warning Siren. If you do see a deer, don’t justwait it out. Deer aren’t the smartest creatures in the animal kingdom, but theyare easy to frighten. When deer are nearby, as long as there isn’t nearbytraffic for you to startle, go ahead and slow way down, then look at the deerand give them a long honk with your horn. They should start at this, and runaway. If that doesn’t work, start giving them repeated beeps with your horn.Deer hate repetitive loud noises, and this should at the very least scare themaway from coming any closer to you and your vehicle.
Stay(and Brake, Hard) in Your Lane. Most fatalities related to accidents with deer don’thappen on collision with the deer itself — they come when drivers swerve out oftheir lane to avoid hitting a deer and crash head-on with oncoming traffic ornearby wildlife. Swerving is an instinctive response. Fight it!If you see a deer entering the roadway ahead of you, brake immediately, and don't swerve. According to experts, most injuries, fatalities and damage occur not from a deer-vehicle collision, but from drastic swerving and attempts to avoid a deer. In fact, swerving can send you off the road or into oncoming traffic, and even if you move out of the way, a scared and confused deer might dart in the same direction as your headlights.Deer collisionprevention is more about breaking than swerving. When you see a deer which isin or near your path, brake as firmly as you safely can—but stay in your lane.Then, you can move on to other evasive or protective maneuvers, as detailedabove. However, if you instinctively swerve, then you may have just createdanother problem which you will have to (rapidly) solve.
FollowThat Classic Advice! It’s not a new maxim: Seat belts are there to protect yourlife. Wear them, and wear them all the time! Make sure that everyone in yourcar is wearing their seat belt. Especially if you’re in a collision scenario,it’s exponentially important that everyone in you car (and even heavy objects)are fastened down. Even small children in the back seat effectively becomeprojectiles if they’re not wearing their seat belts and you crash into something,making any injuries and damages to your vehicle and your people worse than theyneeded to be! Avoid making the situation worse than necessary by simplyfollowing that simple rule: always wear your seat belt.If you tend to ditch the buckle for some added comfort on longer trips, don't. Buckling up can save your life in a deer collision, especially considering the extreme forces under play when you dramatically brake or collide with another object such as a tree or road barrier. Without a seat belt, a minor fender bender can cause serious damage to drivers and passengers, so it goes without saying that a seat belt should be worn at all times while your vehicle is moving -- because you never know when your next accident will happen.
If you do have passengers in your car and you notice the tell-tale warning signs, everyone in the car should pitch in to help. Assign sides of the road and the tree line or bushes to each occupant. It'll increase your chances of avoiding a collision as more eyeballs means additional ways to stay safe.
If you see a deer, use all of your vehicle's tools to help you detect and avoid a collision. While headlights may confuse deer, they help you see and enable you to reduce your speed to avoid or mitigate a collision. Flashing your brights and honking your horn can also serve as a warning to would-be crosserthat it's not safe.
If your car comes equipped with automatic braking or other advanced tools, this is the time to activate them. Computers have much shorter reaction times than human drivers, and they'll likely be able to avoid an accident better than you will. That said, you should still be extra vigilant in case you see something that your car's computer doesn't. Two "brains" are better than one.
MostDeterrents Don’t Work. An entire industry has popped up around manufacturing andselling ‘deer deterrents’ including whistles, reflectors, and deer fences.Unfortunately, the main effect of these seems to have been that the people whohave them are lulled into a safe sense of calm. Don’t get duped by these! Noneof these products have been proven to work effectively—which means that they’renot going to keep deer from running into your path, and they’re not going tosave you. There’s nothing more effective than practicing safe driving. Followthe steps given here, and always keep a look-out for deer in yourpath—regardless of whether you think you’re ‘safe’ or not.
Invest in a Speedir thermal night vision camera. Above, we’vehighlighted some great common-sense tips to help you avoid a potentially fataland likely avoidable incident! Following these steps will keep you safe for themajority of the time. However, if you’d like some additional assurance(particularly if you live in an area with a large deer population!), considerinvesting in a Speedir thermal night vision camera.
If you frequently travel in areas where deer are common, or you've had a close call or accident before, consider purchasing a thermal night vision camera for your vehicle. Unlike car AI that feeds information to a your car's computer, specialty cameras like the Night Owl Plus Infrared Deer Detector show you a real-time display of the objects and living things around you, with indicators to suggest distance and danger level. This helps you see a deer or any object before it becomes a problem, giving you both the time to react and the calm to make the right decision -- remember, brake sharply and don't swerve.
Athermal imaging system is, simply put, a heat sensor on your vehicle whichtransmits the same information to you as a camera would—before a light-basedcamera would be able to detect it. If you’re driving along a windy road atnight, you won’t be able to see much; however, a thermal camera will reliablyalways be able to sense warm, living organisms on the road and around it.
Speedir Night owl Plus models come withartificial intelligence that can scan the heat-based images and tell youprecisely when you’re coming close to a hazard, allowing you to have thoseprecious seconds that will determine whether you can make a smart decision orallow your instincts to take over. As we’ve mentioned above, those seconds canbe crucial in saving your car, the deer’s life, and that of your own.
Ultimately,the choice is yours. When you’re driving through deer country, you just want tobe safe. Follow the above tips for safety, and if you’re going to be in thissituation often—a thermal camera may just end up saving your life.
Oh, no! I hit a deer!
Even if you do everything right, sometimes it's not possible to avoid a deer collision. Indeed, how to avoid hitting a deer can often be a matter of luck than preparation or skill, though these are important factors in minimizing damage or injury. If you've had a collision, the first thing you should do is get all the occupants and the vehicle off the road. On a dark road, a stopped car may not be noticed by other vehicles, particularly if a serious accident has damaged your electrical components and knocked out your lights. After moving your vehicle off the road, set up hazard cones, flags or lights if you have them and then call the police. With a bad accident, their lights will help you stay safe as rescue efforts and cleanup occurs, and the increased commotion will warn other motorists of the danger that lies ahead.
Leave It Alone! If an unfortunate accident has occurred despite your best intentions and you have hit a deer, there are certain things you should and shouldn’t do. Don’t just drive away—there may be more damaged with your vehicle than you are aware. Also, don’t touch the animal! Even if it appears to be dead, it may just be wounded and frightened—exactly in the right mindset to attack if any stranger comes near. Stay in your vehicle and call the police—they’re trained to help in exactly this situation.
Call Your Insurance Agency. After you and the deer are no longer in harm’s way, take your car to a shop to assess what, exactly, has happened to your vehicle. If anything more than cosmetic scarring has happened to your vehicle, call your insurance agent immediately to report the damage and to see what policy coverage you have for natural accidents such as the one you have experienced.
From Your Friends at Speedir
Here at Speedir, we're passionate about keeping you and your loved ones safe and sound as you travel on our nation's roads and highways. A pioneering leader in advanced thermal and night vision technology, our products help drivers stay safe in low visibility situations such as nighttime or inclement weather. Call or click today to see how we can help you stay safe with advanced technology for any car, truck or commercial vehicle.
