Be on the lookout for deer on the move.

Be on the lookout for deer on the move.

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

HART — With the high volume of car/deer crashes this time of year, the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office is asking motorists to be on the lookout for deer on the move, especially at dawn and dusk.

“If a deer should enter the road, try not to swerve off the road, but first apply the brakes and watch out for a second, third or fourth deer following,” advised Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast.

“Be on the lookout,” Mast said. “If you see one, assume there are more. Pay attention and slow down, especially in areas where there are trees and brush close to the road.”

The rut season – when deer breeding occurs – will be coming soon, Mast said, and even more deer will be moving around. The recent cooler temperatures have caused the deer to be more mobile.

Each fall, the sheriff’s office handles hundreds of car/deer crashes, he said. Right now, deputies are dealing with an average of three per day, but by the end of October, that number will rise to an average of five per day.

“Each year, there are nearly 50,000 reported vehicle-deer crashes in Michigan,” according to the Michigan State Police website. “About 80 percent of these crashes occur on two-lane roads between dusk and dawn. The most serious crashes occur when motorists swerve to avoid a deer and hit another vehicle or a fixed object (such as a tree), or when their vehicle rolls over.”

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