The Wichita area has already seen a slight jump in deer-related crashes, and numbers will likely rise through November.
Mating season is underway and deer are also looking for more food and safe places to stay. This means deer are more active, especially around dawn and dusk, raising chances of deer-vehicle collisions. Mating season peaks in mid-November and that’s typically when the most crashes happen.
“Wet weather this year may cause some deer to cross roads in new places and the additional vegetation growth could make deer harder to see until they are in the road. The approaching breeding season increases deer movement, and the cooler weather, along with young deer dispersing to find new home ranges, mean more deer may be crossing the roads.” said Levi Jaster, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Big Game Coordinator.
According to the Kansas Department of Transportation, 10,734 of the 64,933 crashes reported in 2018 were deer-related. Sedgwick County had 418 deer-vehicle crashes and Butler County followed with 384. These are the two highest rates in the state.
“If you are unfortunate enough to have a deer enter the highway in front of your car, it is best to hit the animal and not swerve to avoid it,” said the KHP’s Lt. Adam Winters. “Often, we find more serious crashes occur when you swerve to miss the deer, potentially losing control of your vehicle, leaving the road or veering into oncoming traffic.”
A crash involving a deer where damage is at least $1000 is required to be reported to law enforcement. If you’d like to take part of deer that was hit, KHP troopers, deputies, and game wardens are able to issue salvage tags.
