By MATT PIKE
The fall season brings increased deer movement, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol wants drivers to be on the lookout.
Seargent Shane Hux with Troop H says this time of year at any time of the day you can see deer along the roadway
"Primarily early morning, and then as well at dusk, seems like to be the more prevalent times,” Hux tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.
Hux says with harvest season happening deer are being pushed out of their habitats. He says it is also the deer’s mating season which adds to their movement.
Hux says if you come across a deer in the roadway, you should not try to swerve to avoid it
"Cause what we see a lot of is people that swerve to miss a deer, then their vehicle travels off the roadway, they overcorrect, and it causes the vehicle to overturn,” Hux explains. “So the crash turns into a serious crash when it could have been maybe a minor crash because they struck the deer.”
Hux says instead, if you see a deer, you should be sure to decrease your speed and maintain a visual on the deer. Hux also says if you can't get stopped, sometimes it's better to just hit the deer, rather than risk more serious injury.
Hux says if you do hit a deer, you might not have to report it for insurance, but you should still contact the highway patrol
"We also want to make sure that that deer carcass is not still in the roadway after someone hits a deer, because that becomes another hazard for other motorists, so we always lik to remove those from the roadway,” Hux says. “So, call us, even if you don’t need a report, call us, we can send a trooper out to respond to that area to make sure that there’s not a hazard of that carcass still being out in the roadway.”
In 2024, there were 2,952 crashes with deer, with four deaths and 420 injuries reported according to the Highway Patrol.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.