The Killaloe Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is urging all motorists to be cautious of deer after responding to fourteen property damage collisions involving deer over the past week in the Killaloe Detachment area.
If you spot an animal on the road ahead, stay in control, reduce your speed as much as possible and steer in a straight direction. Avoid changing your direction quickly as this increases the risk of losing control, running off the roadway, and rolling your vehicle. This also increases the likelihood of sustaining greater damage to your vehicle and serious injury.
Some other helpful hints to ensure a safe journey are as follows:
- Scan the ditches and not just the road ahead of you. You may spot deer or other wildlife approaching the road, and be able to take precautions;
- Where you see one deer, expect more;
- Slow down. The slower you go, the more time you have to react should you encounter any wildlife on the roadway;
- Wildlife can move across roads at any time of the day or night;
- Watch for glowing eyes at night;
- Don’t veer for animals. Reduce your speed quickly, steer straight, and stay in control;
- Don’t be distracted behind the wheel; and,
- Ensure you are wearing your seatbelt. If you need to stop in a hurry, you want your body restrained to prevent unnecessary injury or possibly death.
Road safety is everyone’s responsibility. Please, stay safe.
Yarmel,C.,OPP Killaloe Detachment(2023,Jan.23) KILLALOE OPP INVESTIGATE SEVERAL COLLISIONS INVOLVING DEER [media release]
At night use your high beams when you can but be sure to switch them down whenever another vehicle is approaching. Yes, this is more work but it makes for safer driving. I also usually use my cruise-control unless it’s snowy or rainy or near a traffic light which lets me focus more on defensive driving instead of on the gas pedal. Another useful habit is to sound your horn repeatedly when you see a creature on or beside the highway which alarms and frightens deer and moose and most other animals and encourages them to run away from the road. Modern automobiles and light trucks tend to run quietly and animals simply don’t respond to motor vehicles as do humans because they usually don’t associate them with lethal danger and also often will behave impulsively and leap in front of your vehicle:- the same is actually true of humans and children not used to being around motor-vehicle traffic and even pet cats and dogs are often oblivious to the danger of moving motor vehicles so don’t assume that deer and moose etc will respond like adults in the vicinity of moving motor vehicles.