Watch out for deer on the move

Iowans are warned to be on “extra alert” for a bounding Bambi. October and November are the worst months of the year for car-deer collisions, according to Triple-A Motor Club spokeswoman Dawn Duffy. She says deer are very active right now, especially at dawn and dusk. She says deer are entering the fall mating season and trying to allude hunters. Duffy says it goes against our instincts to -not- steer away from an accident, but she says the “don’t veer for deer” slogan could be a life-saver — at least for the motorist, but likely not for the animal. Duffy says if a collision is unavoidable, don’t swerve because it’s safer to hit the deer than to risk losing control and hitting another object, such as another vehicle or a tree. She says deer do travel together, so if you see one, you’ll likely see others. In the year 2000, there were 78-hundred deer-vehicle crashes in Iowa, resulting in 600 injuries and three deaths.