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Reduced vision leads to more crashes with wildlife

From Cheryl Rost
ITD Employee Safety and Risk Management manger
Why is night time driving so dangerous? According to the National Safety Council, 90 percent of a driver’s reaction depends on vision – and vision is limited at night. Depth perception, color recognition and peripheral vision are all compromised after sundown. Another factor is fatigue; drowsiness slows reaction times. Motorists should take these steps to minimize the risks of driving at night:

Prepare your vehicle for night driving.
Clean headlights, tail lights, signal lights, and windows. Make sure all lights are working properly.
Make sure your headlights are properly aimed. Misaimed headlights blind other drivers and reduce your ability to see the road.
Reduce your speed and increase your following distance. Judging the speed and distance of other vehicles is more difficult at night than during the day.
Avoid smoking while driving. Nicotine and carbon monoxide hamper night vision.
If you’re too tired to drive any further, stop and rest awhile.

Hitting a deer can happen anytime of the year, but November is the month with the highest risk for a vehicle-deer collision. The effects can be costly. Approximately 200 people die each year from collisions with deer, and the economic cost to Americans is more than a billion dollars annually. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that about 275,000 motor vehicle crashes involving an animal occurred in 2005.

The Department of Transportation offers the following tips to help avoid vehicle-deer collisions:

Slow down and prepare to stop as soon as you see a deer. Stopping your vehicle is better than taking evasive action.
Notice other cars; slow down if they are behaving differently.
When you spot a deer, watch for more. Deer often travel in groups.
Understand that deer are nocturnal. Deer often travel at dawn and at dusk. Many vehicle-deer crashes happen between 6 PM and midnight.
Do not swerve into another lane to avoid striking a deer. It is better to strike a deer than another vehicle or object.
If you hit a deer, call 911 and wait for assistance.

Provided by the National Safety Council
Photo Courtesy Ian T. Edwards