Anyone driving along Missouri’s highways this time of year has to be on the lookout for deer. There are lots of them running across the state’s roadways and motorists have to be alert to avoid collisions. Bill Heatherly of the Missouri Department of Conservation says there’s a reason we’re seeing a lot of deer on the roads this time of year. The bucks are pursuing does, even forgoing food, because it is mating season. During 1998, the most recent year for which statistics exist, there were more than 8,600 deer-vehicle accidents in Missouri.