Oh deer! It's mating season, and drivers should be alert

RICHMOND — As the days get shorter, the temperatures drop, and the leaves change color, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) are reminding motorists that autumn is accompanied by deer mating season. Drivers should slow down and use caution as deer are more active and the potential for crashes increases.

Deer are especially active in the fall — particularly from mid-October through November — during their mating season. Deer also take advantage of road side edges for foraging, particularly as other fall foods become limited, so motorists should be careful and expect to see more deer on the roadways. Deer often cross roads and highways everywhere in Virginia at all times of the day, but particularly at dawn and dusk.

With the change in seasons and the end of Daylight Saving Time approaching, the shorter days means deer are on the move during peak travel times and more motorists are driving in the dark. Drivers should use caution everywhere, but especially near forested areas, along streams, and in locations where deer crossing signs have been installed as these areas have been identified as particularly high deer traffic areas.

Last year, 42% of the crashes involving deer in Virginia happened in October and November, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Of the 7,335 total crashes involving deer reported to law enforcement, there were 690 reported injuries. Virginia has seen an increase in crashes involving deer in recent years, with a 20% increase between 2022 and 2023.

VDOT and DWR partnered with the Department of Conservation and Recreation and Department of Forestry to create the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan last year to serve as a guide on protecting vital wildlife habitat corridors and reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions to promote driver safety. Other ways that VDOT helps enable the safe movement of wildlife is installing directional fencing to steer animals toward structures such as culverts or bridges to get to the other side of a roadway, installing deer crossing signs and using changeable message signs during mating season to alert drivers of increased deer activity.

Tips for motorists:

• While the urge to swerve is instinctual, do not veer for deer. If a deer or other animal jumps in front of you as you’re driving, don’t swerve aggressively or overcompensate. You might lose control of your vehicle. Gradually brake to avoid hitting the animal.
• Prepare for the unexpected. Deer may stop in the middle of the road or double back.
• If you see one deer, slow down because they usually travel in groups so there’s likely to be others nearby.
• Check the shoulders of a road or highway and use your high beam headlights when able. Deer tend to stand on the sides of the road and then suddenly move into the road. Slow down and hit your horn to scare the deer, as they dart and run in either direction.
• Be extra alert when driving near areas wildlife frequent, such as streams and rivers, and reduce your speed so you can react safely.
• If you hit a deer, pull off to the shoulder and turn on your hazard lights. Do not exit your vehicle and search for the deer, because it could hurt you.
• Don't litter. Trash odors can attract animals to roadways.

If you hit and kill a deer that needs to be picked up or encounter a deceased deer creating a hazard on a state-maintained roadway, you can report it by calling 800-367-7623 (FOR-ROAD) or by filling out a report at my.vdot.virginia.gov.