ASK A TROOPER by Sgt. Jacalyn Sticha
October 2013.
Find out what's happening in Northfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
How many deer vs. vehicle crashes are there in a year?
Find out what's happening in Northfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Last year, 2012, in Minnesota there were 2,488 crashes involving deer and another 230 involving “other animals”. Eight of these crashes were fatalities and 325 injury crashes.
Our best defense is to expect deer, especially, at dawn and dusk in the fall and spring. Scan the road/horizon continually, which we should be doing anyways. Being alert and scanning may buy you extra seconds - allowing you more time to slow, reducing the impact if you hit the deer or allowing you to avoid it safely. We do not want drivers to go off the roadway or into the oncoming traffic lane, for obvious reasons.
We have all heard it and it is true, if you see one deer there are likely more, maybe at that location or just down the road.