With deer becoming increasingly active due to their current rut season, a time when bucks are chasing does to breed and daylight-saving time puts more vehicles on the road during times and when deer move most, it’s the period when most deer-vehicle accidents occur. As such, the Pennsylvania Game Commission advises motorists to stay alert and slow down, especially when driving past wooded tracts on either side of the roadways, especially at dusk and dawn – the peak hours for deer activity.

Data from around the country indicate Pennsylvania drivers face some of the highest risks of a vehicle collision with deer or other large animals like coyotes, even a bear. A recent report shows Pennsylvania leads the nation in animal-collision insurance claims in fiscal year 2024-25. According to the PGC, the national average for animal collisions is 1-in-139, while Pennsylvania drivers have a 1-in-62 chance. Drivers in only West Virginia (1-in-40), Montana (1-in-54), and Michigan (1-in-59), Wisconsin (1-in-63), strike big game animals with greater frequency.

Another serious fact is that deer-vehicle collisions cause 59,000 injuries annually and 440 human deaths across the country.

Keep in mind that if you encounter one deer crossing the road in front of you, there could be others behind it as deer often travel in groups and walk single file. So it doesn’t mean the threat is over as other ones could be right behind the lead deer.

A few weeks ago, I was driving down Columbia Street in Stiles when a large doe popped out from a wooded section on my left and momentarily behind it were two fawns that followed her to a soybean field on the other side of the road. Fortunately, I was able to quickly hit the brakes as I watched the trio run a car length distance past me. It’s also important to pay attention to “Deer Crossing” signs as that area has a high probability of deer encounters.

A driver who hits a deer with their vehicle is not required to report the accident to the PGC (only to your insurance carrier). If the deer dies, Pennsylvania residents may claim the carcass. To do so, they can call the PGC (within 24 hours of taking possession of the deer) at 833-PGC-HUNT or 833-PGC-WILD and an agency dispatcher will collect the information needed to provide a free permit number, which the caller should write down. A passing resident motorist also may claim the deer and reporting it with the same procedure.

As a precaution, the PGC says that if a deer is struck but not killed, drivers should maintain their distance because some deer might recover and move on, or attack you especially if it’s a buck that could gore you with its antlers.

To report a dead deer for removal from state roads, motorists can all PennDOT at 800-FIX-ROAD.