Watch the road! It’s deer mating season

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I.—The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management is warning motorists to be alert for deer crossing the roads in November and December.

“A live deer’s going to do some damage to your car,“ said Brian Tefft of the DEM. “Drivers really need to be weary.“

Now is the time deer are aplenty because Tefft said mating season has started. “The Rut,“ as it’s called, lasts for about two months.

“The indiscriminate chasing, random chasing can often result in deer darting across the road and an unsuspecting motorist impacting that deer. So, particularly, deer activity is most prevalent at dawn and dusk, and at night in the dark,“ Tefft said.

Rhode Island has already seen nearly 1,000 deer strikes this year, with every city and town reporting at least one.

Tefft said honking the horn and deer whistles provide iffy results. So what’s a driver to do?

“We tell them to be really looking. You slow down and you’re looking off to side of the road because frequently you can see them before they come across, and sometimes if you see one, there may be others behind them,“ he said.

If you see a deer in the middle of the road, experts say to avoid the instinct to swerve and keep driving straight ahead.

“Swerving to avoid that deer can result in a serious crash both with oncoming traffic and off the road,“ Tefft said.

Tefft said drivers are better off slowing down.

“If you see a deer and there’s no way to avoid it, you’re basically control braking, and if you have to hit the deer you’re better off hitting it straight on,“ he said.

DEM said that hitting a deer head on will likely do more damage to the deer, and less to drivers.

If you happen to hit a deer, DEM recommends calling police and staying away.

There is one consolation. If you hit and kill a deer, you can ask DEM for a permit to take it home for the meat.