It’s time for spooky, chilly fall evenings.
Pumpkins are everywhere.
The very night seems filled with hauntings.
In the shadows you see a ethereal form, coming closer, you can discern the horns.
It’s not a trick-or-treater.
It’s a deer and it’s headed right for your car.
According to a recent Associated Press release: “The AAA notes that deer cause 1.6 million vehicle crashes annually.
“The Insurance Information Institute says such accidents average $3,000 in damages.
“Deer accidents spike from October through December, during mating season.”
So right now, for the deer, it’s sort of like Halloween and prom all at once.
They have other things on their little minds, besides watching both ways as they cross the highway, or the dirt road, or your drive way.
They are just about everywhere and where ever they are, they are jumping at the chance to jump.
Safety experts suggest there are a couple of steps you can take if you are driving at dusk, dawn or night.
If there’s no on-coming traffic, try using your brights. That can alert the deer better.
But the best advice is for drivers to be alert.
Scan the ditches and fields as you drive, keeping alert for any movement.
Frequently, deer move in groups, so if you see one, there’s probably more coming.
And, if you can’t avoid the animal, and you have to brake, do it in a straight line. Swerving will almost certainly make things worse.
Hopefully the drivers will pay a lot more attention to what is going on than the deer do.
We have fewer excuses, anyway.
— Chuck Smith