With daylight saving time upon us, more cars are on the road during hours when deer move the most. That, plus the deer rut is on, which has bucks throwing caution to the wind as they chase doe.

Last week as I was driving on Mauch Chunk Road when two sizeable antlerless deer ran out from the cornfield (belonging to Geo Chemicals) and across the road into the harvested soybean on the east side of the road.

As I passed them standing in the soybean field, I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw them cross back into the corn from where they came. And this was at 10 in the morning. They likely were being chased by a buck.

The next day, as I was driving on S. Church Road in Whitehall, a smaller doe crossed the road in front of me and ran into a small woodlot. That deer too was probably being chased by a buck at 9:30 in the morning.

And last Saturday morning as I was driving eastbound on Tilghman Street in South Whitehall Township and about 50 yards from the Route 309 cloverleaf and almost directly across from Trivet Diner, a sizeable doe was laying in the middle of the highway, evidently hit by a motorist that morning and a place you wouldn't think a deer would be.

Says the PGC, deer become more active in autumn as they come into their fall breeding season. Around this time many yearling bucks disperse from the areas in which they were born and travel several dozen miles to find new ranges. Meanwhile, adult bucks are more often cruising their home ranges in search of does, and they sometimes chase the does they encounter.

The PGC is advising motorists to slow down and be alert and drive cautiously especially when traveling on roads bordered by woodlands or uncut cornfields. That, plus the PGC says drivers should be especially careful and slow down when seeing "Deer Crossing" signs as that sign has been out there because it's a high road kill area where deer have customarily crossed.

The PGC explains that deer often travel in family groups and walk single file. If one deer successfully crosses the road in front of a driver, another could be right behind it.

The agency goes on to say that a driver, who hits a deer with a vehicle, is not required to report the accident to the Game Commission. If the deer dies, only Pennsylvania residents may claim the carcass as there's always some undamaged venison that can be eaten. But to do so, they must call the Game Commission regional office representing the county where the accident occurred and an agency dispatcher will collect the information needed to provide a free permit number, which the caller should write down as proof in case they're checked by a WCO.

If the deer is a buck, the antlers must either be turned over to the PGC, or purchased for $10 per point by the person who claims the deer. Also, removing antlers from road-killed bucks is illegal.

Here are some tips for motorists from the PGC to alleviate deer-vehicle accidents.

* Don't count on deer whistles or deer fences to deter from crossing roads in front of you. Stay alert.

* Watch for the reflection of deer eyes and for deer silhouettes on the shoulder of the road. If anything looks slightly suspicious slow down.

* Slow down in areas known to have a large deer population; where deer-crossing signs are posted; places where deer commonly cross roads; areas where roads divide agricultural fields from woods; and whenever in forested areas between dusk and dawn.

* Deer do unpredictable things. Sometimes they stop in the middle of the road when crossing. Sometimes they cross and quickly re-cross back from where they came. Sometimes they'll even move toward an approaching vehicle. Assume nothing. Slow down; blow your horn to urge deer to leave the road. Stop if the deer stays on the road; don't try to go around it.