Moose Droppings

Deer Hunting Causes Deer Vs. Auto Accidents? Give me a Break

Oct 19, 2006 @ 08:15 am by Moose

WBKO from Kentucky has a news story about the State Police warning motorists to watch out for deer on the road because of hunting season. Hello that’s a bunch of crap and I’m sick of hearing how hunters are responsible for deer being in the roadway. Trust me Kentucky State Police is not the only law enforcement agency that puts out this misinformation but they are the most recent and I can show by their own stats they are flat wrong. Crash data from the Kentucky State Police Web site shows the times of day when these accidents happen.

Deer / Auto Collisions by Time of the Day for November
Deer / Auto collisions follow a pattern over a 24 hour period. The highest likelihood for a collision with deer is during the peak hours in the evening between 5 PM and 8 PM, and in the morning between 5 AM and 8 M. 52% of all collisions happened in that timeframe for past five years.
A collision with deer is least likely to occur during the hours between 12 PM and 4 PM.

Sunrise Sunset schedule shows that most of these accidents happen after dark and if my math is right 71% of the accidents happen between the hours of 6pm and Midnight. ( Avg # of accidents for Nov 570.33 Avg # of accidents between the hours of 6pm and Midnight 403.6) Hardly the ideal time for Kentucky deer hunters to be chasing deer around the woods.

Now there is some deer chasing going on in them woods, the bucks are chasing does because of the rut. This I believe is the most logical reason for why there is more deer hit by cars. Hunters are not responsible for these accidents and it’s irresponsible for the Kentucky State Police or any other agency to suggest we are. So next time you hear something like this, and I’m sure you will, challenge them to show you the evidence.