As deer are becoming more active heading into late spring and early summer, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is asking all motorist to become extra alert.
The department is calling for the increase in alertness due to the recent increase in the number of vehicle crashes involving deer, with Dane and Waukesha Counties ranked #1 and #2 for overall deer crashes.
Jim Wiese, the owner of Premier Body and Paint said he has had several clients come into his shop over the past few weeks due to crashes with deer.
"That's how everything starts out with a deer hit, out of nowhere it just came out and there was nothing I could do," said Wiese.
That's often what he hears when clients bring their damaged vehicles into his shop. According to WisDot, the increase in deer activity is due to females looking for a place to give birth and young becoming separated from their mothers.
“It’s almost like us walking on an ice rink their hooves just are not designed to walk on paved surfaces so they are not as sure-footed as they ordinarily would be,” said Captain Timothy Carnahan of the Wisconsin State Patrol.
Carnahan said because deer are so unpredictable, people have to be aware of the possibility of deer especially at dusk and dawn and scan the sides of roads.
“And always anticipate if you see one, always anticipate that there may be one, two or even more others,” said Carnahan.
