Hunting season puts motorists at risk, too

©Finger Lakes Times 2002 ^ | November 18, 2002 | By: STEPHANIE SORRELL

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Thomas Sheets never had a chance.

He was driving down Black Brook Road in Seneca Falls earlier this month when a deer jumped out from a soybean field and hit his new 2002 pickup truck.

Sheets, of 119 Whiskey Hill Road, Waterloo, said he has - unfortunately - become accustomed to this type of accident.

"This happens to me every year," said Sheets, who, on Friday, was still waiting for $3,000 in repairs to his front end to be completed.

Sheets is far from alone when it comes to car-deer accidents.

"This time of year is an abundant time for car-deer accidents," said State Police Sgt. Gary Gray in Canandaigua, partly because it's hunting season. Firearm season opens today in the Finger Lakes.

Car-deer accidents can cause injuries and serious damage to vehicles. On Route 96 in Macedon last year, a deer jumped through the driver's side window of a van and then back out through the passenger's side window, injuring a 6-year-old girl.

Gray, traffic supervisor for Troop E headquarters, said of the 150 accident reports they received within a two-day period last week, approximately one-third were deer related. These reports come from throughout the 10-county Troop E area, which includes Ontario, Seneca, Wayne and Yates counties.

Dick Henry, a big game biologist with the state Department of Environmental Conservation office in Albany, said there are about 60,000 deer-motor vehicle accidents each year in the state; nationwide, the number is about 1.5 million.

He said the state figure is an approximation, since only about 1 in 5 such accidents is reported. Henry said the current pre-season population estimate was more than a million deer in the state.

"We know that not all deer-motor accidents are reported, because we have people who call here who want to salvage the carcass for meat," said Henry, who also noted people are not required to report the accident.

Henry said that not all of these collisions lead to deer fatalities, and some animals leave the scene of the accident without suffering major injuries.

Marty Pierson, of Marty's Collision on Route 14A in Hall, said the average damage estimates can be between $2,500 and $3,500.

"There's a lot of front damage to the car," said Pierson, adding that the kind of car determines what kind of damage is done; if it is an older car, it's often totaled.

A recent news release from Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero reported that such accidents result in more than $1 billion in insurance claims each year.

Pierson said some drivers use deer whistles on their cars to help warn the animals that a car is coming, but he doesn't believe they work. He said the new, brighter headlights help drivers more quickly notice deer in the road.

Gray said the best thing for drivers to do this time of year is to use general defensive driving skills, which include looking for "Deer Crossing" signs posted by state Department of Transportation crews. Those are put up in areas where deer problems have been reported.

Gray said for drivers to be alert near hedgerows and woods near the road, where deer may be feeding, especially at dawn and dusk.

Another tip Gray has for drivers is to not overdrive their headlights, meaning to not drive so fast that their headlights are not being properly used. For example, Gray said that when traveling at 55 mph, the driver cannot see 300 feet in front, which is the distance needed to stop at that speed. He recommends drivers slow down, especially near wooded areas.

State police also advise drivers to stay aware of their surroundings and quickly consider the situation - such as whether they are better off striking the deer than swerving and risk hitting another car or utility pole, causing more serious injuries.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

"This time of year is an abundant time for car-deer accidents," said State Police Sgt. Gary Gray in Canandaigua, partly because it's hunting season.

This is technically true, but misleadingly written.

The reason for car-deer collision this time of year is primarily because it is mating season. The number of collisions caused by hunting is infintisimal.

I think I detect an anti-hunting bias.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Media bias, Environmental Wacko, Anti-Second Amendment, Animal Rights bump.

[Minnesoootan]

You are correct.

[Minnesoootan]

You are correct.

[Dog Gone]

The solution is to hunt and kill more deer.

[aught-6]

"This happens to me every year," said Sheets, who, on Friday, was still waiting for $3,000 in repairs to his front end to be completed.

You would think he'd learn his lesson?

[elbucko]

I think I detect an anti-hunting bias.

I think so too.

[dead]

I don't get this article.

Killing deer is leading to more deer/car collisions?

Is somebody throwing dead deer at cars? Or are they zombie deer?

[presidio9]

As we have eliminated natural predators, deer hunting is a necessary means of culling unsustainable populations. The alternatives are starvation, poisoning, and steralization (which is impractical). Without hunting, there would be many more deer on the highways, with a corresponding increase in accidents. Therefore, the practice of deer hunting actually makes driving safer. The fact that more accidents occur at this time of year is, as someone else pointed out, related to the behavior of deer during the rut, and has nothing to do with hunting. You might as well say "college football puts motorists at risk from deer."

[dd5339]

""This time of year is an abundant time for car-deer accidents," said State Police Sgt. Gary Gray in Canandaigua, partly because it's hunting season. Firearm season opens today in the Finger Lakes."

Maybe the deer are moving because it's mating season rather than from hunting pressure? Besides, how many vehicle/deer accidents happen during hunting hours versus non hunting hours when the deer have no hunting pressure.

Semper Fi

[Brian Mosely]

I think I detect an anti-hunting bias.

Ya think?

Yeah, this piece is pure crap. Over the past few weeks, I must have gotten half a dozen press releases from different sources, mostly auto insurance companies, about the fact that deer mating season is here and that deer mating season means more deer/auto accidents...hell, the Air Force alone sent us a huge 4 page piece on this due to the giant deer population on their base. Not a single one of these fact sheets going out to the media even mentions hunting season.

Your detection of bias is correct.

[Tench_Coxe]

Gee, people with plate glass windows in their homes have had deer run through them. And gee, this was in places where there is no hunting. Might it have something to do with the Rut?

[archy]

Marty Pierson, of Marty's Collision in Hell, said the average damage estimates can be between $2500 and $3500.

"There's a lot of front damage to the car," said Pierson, adding that the kind of car determines what kind of damage is done; if it is an older car, it is often totaled.

A collision with a deer is not exactly a real big value enhancer for a motorbike, either.

-archy-/-

[Billthedrill]

to use general defensive driving skills, which include looking for "Deer Crossing" signs posted by state Department of Transportation crews.

Those signs are no use at all, they still cross wherever they durn well please. I swear, it's as if the deer don't even read them!

[go star go]

All of the examples and numbers mentioned were before hunting season "opens this week".

[TrueKnightGalahad]

Those signs are no use at all, they still cross wherever they durn well please. I swear, it's as if the deer don't even read them!

Obviously they're attending public schools!

[Rightone]

What a bunch of cr*p. The deer going nuts has NOTHING to do with hunting compared with the fact that they are mating. That is why they are running out there causing damage to many, many vehicles as well as personal injuries! These darn deer need to be THINNED OUT, (read we need MORE hunters). It is ridiculous that we have so many deer running around out there causing damage and personal injury to humans.

[El Gato]

The corporate site where I work in San Antonio is overrun with several herds of deer. At this time of year you have to be very carefull on the way to your car if it's after normal working hours. The bucks can get very aggressive this time of year. The deer are there all the time, and you see them all the time, (although only after it cools off after dark in the summer), but they don't challenge you for occupancy of your space except at this time. The upside, sort of, is lots of fawns the next spring for certain members of the staff to Ooh and Aaah over.

[dsutah]

I did too! I know of a situation close to this particular incident, but a little different. My daughter was driving home from work one night. She took the freeway home through a rural area. She wasn't going terribly fast, but just what is allowed on the freeway. She said something that looked like a big bird came up from the side of her car and crashed into her headlight! I guess it was a big game bird(a pheasant, I believe)that seemed to be taking off from the side of the road, and was flying low in front of her car.

It was strong enough and big enough to scare her half to death! Thank heavens it didn't come flying up higher and hit her windshield! She took it into a auto-body repair shop and they had to replace the light. The guy who looked at it found feathers. There are a lot of wetland areas where these big birds are living in; but they do fly to other areas that are not so wet. There is still a lot of rural land on the outskirts of Ogden and other cities along the mountains.

[freedox]

" The number of collisions caused by hunting is infintisimal."

LOL!! I beg to differ, my friend. On opening day of deer season, the pickup truck/4 wheeler/camping trailer traffic on a rural Arkansas highway can be downright DEADLY!!