Missouri motorists are being urged to be on the lookout for deer this month, with November seeing the largest number of deer-vehicle strikes.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol logo (courtesy of Patrol Lieutenant Collin Stosberg)
Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain John Hotz cites harvest time, mating season and the firearms deer season.
He says there were officially 4,090 traffic crashes involving deer in Missouri in 2018.
“Well you look at that and that’s roughly one deer strike every 2.1 hours in the state and we know that number is probably, actually a lot higher,” Hotz says.
Captain Hotz tells Missourinet that’s because many motorists contact their insurance company directly, and won’t file a report with law enforcement.
He says six motorists were killed and another 415 were injured in 2018 in Missouri deer-vehicle strikes.
“Most of these folks who are injured or killed are actually in vehicles who take some sort of corrective action and unfortunately they over correct and they lose control of their vehicle,” says Hotz.
He says most deer strikes in Missouri happen between 5 and 6:59 a.m. and from 6 to 8:59 p.m.
Hotz also notes that deer behavior changes due to mating season, which could cause an increase in deer sightings and roadway crossings.
Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain John Hotz, which was recorded on October 25, 2019:
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