It's that time of year again when motorists need to pay extra attention on the roadways.
It happens every autumn, more deer-vehicle crashes occur as October begins.
"As we approach the fall season, we're trying to remind everybody to be vigilant and be very cautious and slow down, especially in the early morning and evening hours. Those are the times when deer hits are most common."
Dennis Hughes is manager of safety programs for WisDOT's Bureau of Transportation Safety. He says most deer crashes are avoidable, but sometimes you're in a situation where it can't be avoided.
Don't swerve. Hughes says you risk hitting something worse than the deer, and maybe another vehicle.
Law enforcement agencies reported nearly 18,000 deer vs. vehicle crashes last year. Hughes says the DNR has their own numbers. The agency has a program where it pays contractors to scrape the deer off the road. Also, there's a program where you can claim the carcass through a salvage permit.
"The DNR numbers total somewhere over 40,000 in any given year, so we know that our 18,000 compared to the DNR's 40,000 is a pretty serious undercounting on our part. But if you ask the insurance companies in Wisconsin they'll tell you even the 40,000 is an undercount."
Last year, 591 people were injured, 14 people were killed in deer-vehicle crashes. Hughes says about 35% of all deer hits occur during October and November. Dane County has the most deer-vehicle crashes in the state.