MOTORISTS URGED TO WATCH OUT FOR DEER

The bumper crop of acorns in Missouri this fall could be good news for motorists.

What do acorns have to do with the driving public?

"Hopefully, the good crop of acorns will keep deer in the woods and off the state's roads," said Lonnie Hansen, a Missouri Department of Conservation wildlife research biologist.

Anything that keeps deer away from the roads is good.

"There's a lot of deer out there and they're moving," Hansen said Friday. "With a herd of 750,000 to 800,000 deer in the state, we could see an increase in deer-vehicle accidents."

Deer are moving because it is rutting season and they'll move more once deer-hunting season begins on Saturday in Missouri.

He admits a lot of the accidents between deer and cars are unavoidable. "A deer will come bounding out of a field or woods and slam into the side of a vehicle."

But motorists can be more careful, too, Hansen points out. "Some drivers will see a deer by the roadside and never slow down."

More than 40,000 deer have been involved in deer-vehicle accidents on Missouri highways the past five years, including 8,384 accidents in 1994. Two people were killed last year, and more than 300 injured.

A fourth of those deer are usually killed in November, Hansen points out, and as many as half of the deer accidents are reported during November, December and January.

Brent Manning, director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, agrees. More than half of the deer-vehicle accidents in Illinois will occur over the next three months, particularly through the early evening and in the hours before dawn.

More than 17,000 traffic accidents involving deer occurred in Illinois last year. The number of accidents has increased tremendously over the past six years in Illinois, from 12,152 in 1989 to 17,118 in 1994. During that period, 18 people were killed in deer-vehicle collisions.

Officials attribute the increase in accidents to a modest growth in the deer population and to the encroachment of urban and suburban development into deer habitat areas.

"Another factor right now is the switch from daylight to central standard time," said Gene Myers of the Cape Girardeau regional office of the Missouri Department of Conservation.

"The new time puts the driving public on roads at dawn and dusk, the peak times that deer are moving."

Conservationists also attribute increased movement by deer to the rutting season.

"The normal caution a deer takes before crossing a busy road just isn't there during the rutting season," said Hansen. "If a buck is on the trail of a doe and she has crossed the road, he's going to follow her."

Deer behavior can't be changed, Hansen said, so drivers must change their driving habits to avoid accidents.

He suggests:

-- Slow down and watch for deer when near a wooded area or where deer-crossing signs are posted. It's especially important to drive cautiously during evening and early morning hours when the animals are actively seeking food and shelter. The sooner you spot a deer, the more time you'll have to react to its movements.

Motorists seeing one deer should anticipate that more are nearby. Motorists also should be aware that deer may cross roadways in a single file and one at a time.

Deer-vehicle accidents should be reported to local law enforcement officials. The report will help conservationists track the incidence of deer-vehicle accidents.

No one has found an effective way of stopping deer from running in front of vehicles.

Deer whistles attached to the front of vehicles produce ultrasonic frequencies that repel deer and other animals and may or may not help. To date, scientific studies do not support manufacturers' claims of reduced accident frequency.

One of the safest measures is to drop speed to a more manageable level if in a known deer area, say conservationists, who warn against swerving to miss deer on the highway. Insurance companies say motorists could be more seriously injured if the car swerves into traffic or runs off the roadway and strikes a tree.

Motorists who strike deer should stay clear of injured animals. Injured deer have been know to charge. If a deer is killed as a result of the collision, the motorist should contact a DOC regional office within 24 hours of the accident, or the next regular working day for accidents occurring on weekends.

The closest Illinois regional office is at Benton, (618)-435-8138. The nearest regional office in Missouri is at Cape Girardeau, (314)-290-5730.