Avoiding Collisions With Wildlife While Driving In Texas This Summer

Hitting a wild animal with your car isn’t just bad news for the animal itself, it can also lead to significant property damage, serious injury, and death.

How can you prevent a serious collision with wildlife on Texas roads?

• Know when wildlife is out. Deer are more prevalent at dawn and dusk. In addition, deer are more likely to be on roads and highways during the spring and fall. Be more vigilant about wildlife during these times. However, also be aware that wildlife collisions can happen at any time of the day and any time of the year.
• Know where wildlife will likely appear. Deer are apt to be around water sources, food sources, and wooded suburban or rural areas. They are also likely to be in the area of warning signs for deer and other wildlife.
• Avoid the urge to swerve suddenly. Though it might sound counterintuitive, it is safer to hit an animal than to swerve and risk running off the road, striking another vehicle, or rolling your car.
• Don’t drive drunk, distracted, or tired. All three of these issues will make it much more difficult for you to avoid hitting deer on the road.
• Use your high beams at night when possible. Watch for glowing eyes reflected in your lights and scan the shoulders for shadows of animals.
• Don’t speed. Not only is speeding illegal, it also greatly increases the chance that if you see a deer crossing your path, you will not be able to avoid a collision.
• If you slow down for an animal crossing, put on your hazard lights if your speed falls significantly under the road’s limit. An approaching car could rear-end you if it is not aware you have slowed or stopped.
• Where there’s one animal, there’s likely another. Many road kill accidents take place when a driver is aware of one animal but fails to notice a second animal in the same area.