SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct. 28, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah public safety and wildlife officials are noting it’s that time of year again — when deer get run over by motorists.
Within a week of each other, both the state Department of Public Safety (Troopers) and the Division of Wildlife Resources (game wardens) independent of each other delivered posts on social media about sparing wildlife who blunder across roadways in this outdoors-rich state of ours.
They note that October and November are the worst months for the vehicle-wildlife collisions, deer by far suffering the most.
The DPS sites a Utah State University study that estimates somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 deer are killed each year on Utah roads.
And it counts 14,700 wildlife-vehicle crashes the past five years with more than $1,500 damage to the vehicle.
The DWR notes the animals get the worst of it in the fall with the initial cold as they come down from hillsides in search of food.
The agency also asks motorists to be especially cautious with the end of Daylight Savings Time on Nov. 6 when commuters will be driving at dusk, which is also an active time for deer.
The DPS (publicsafety.utah.gov) this week posted an extensive slide show on not killing deer with your car:
https://express.adobe.com/page/kkqwX3KKNG8i0/?fbclid=IwAR3sBusc7w2W-NGotzL4nKDKiTw7gqHsY4kK7tPFuPzSk_DM0Xuaci66Huw
or
https://express.adobe.com/page/kkqwX3KKNG8i0/
And last week the DWR (wildlife.utah.gov) posted its advice on avoiding deer:
https://wildlife.utah.gov/news/utah-wildlife-news/1530-tips-to-avoid-deer-vehicle-collisions-after-daylight-savings-time-ends.html
“We need to make a few adjustments in how we drive and brush up on the basics of deer behavior,” the DPS advises.
Among the tips from the agencies: Scan the roadway instead of focusing straight ahead, remember deer travel in groups with fawns lagging behind, and most importantly, drive slower.
