Wright County Government: Drivers Advised To Be Aware Of Increased Vehicle-Deer Accidents

Press release from the Wright County Government:

November 22, 2021

Drivers are being warned to be aware of deer on the move, as deer-vehicle accidents have been on a steady climb since the end of September in Wright County.

Wright County Sheriff Sean Deringer said a combination of factors lead to an increase in vehicle-deer accidents in the fall every year, including rut season, the removal of farm crops that provide natural cover and the fall hunting season that brings people into the woods that wouldn’t normally be there most of the year.

Each week in the Wright County Sheriff’s Activity Report, one of the statistics provided is the number of accidents involving vehicles and deer and the numbers have shown no sign of easing up yet. Here are the weekly numbers since late September (the Activity Reports are generated each Monday and cover a period from Monday to Sunday):

Sept. 27 – 6

Oct. 4 – 6

Oct. 11 – 7

Oct. 18 – 7

Oct. 25 – 10

Nov. 1 – 13 

Nov. 8 – 14

Nov. 15 – 15

Nov. 22 – 15

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety has reminded drivers not to veer away from an accident involving a deer, because damage to the front end of a vehicle is much less dangerous than potentially driving into oncoming traffic or going into a ditch.

This press release was produced by the Wright County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.