Traveling to and from your favorite fishing or hunting destination can bring unexpected tragedy if you are not alert while driving. Obstacles such as potholes and debris are just some of the dangers that may lurk ahead. Although you may often have time to position your vehicle around a pothole the true dangers lurk within the fields and trees on the side of the highway. A deer or moose bolting out in front of you will often leave you little time to react and in many cases could prove fatal to not only the animal but also to you and your passengers.
There are some preventive measures you can take in an effort to lower your chances of hitting a deer or moose with your vehicle. We'll go over just a few in this article and hopefully we'll save a life of at least one of our readers. 1. Get plenty of sleep the night before you decide to travel to your destination. Fatigue can cause your motor skills to slow down lessening your reflexes. 2. Install a good set of Halogen Headlights in your car or truck if you do not already have them installed. Visibility is very important when traveling at night. 3. Another option would be to install a set of wide beam driving lights. These lights will help light up the shoulder of the highway which will increase your chances of seeing a deer or moose standing on the shoulder. Watch for their reflective eyes! 4. Slow down and drive with caution when you see the deer crossing sign posted on the side of the road. (Pictured above) 5. Should you see an animal standing on the shoulder decrease your speed. Do NOT accelerate to get past the animal. Deer in particular can move incredibly fast and change their direction on a dime. It is impossible for anyone to predict which direction a deer is going to run based on the direction it is facing. 6. If a deer jumps out in front of your vehicle and you are left with no choice but to hit the animal try not to hit it head on. A deer's antlers are incredibly hard and sharp. You don't want the antlers coming through your windshield at you. Instead try and hit the animal on an angle or from behind if you are left with no choice but to hit it. 7. Never try to swerve to avoid a deer. You could hit someone else on the highway. In any event just remember that the most important part of any fishing or hunting adventure is getting there and home safely. We want to read your report on OntarioFishing.Net not the newspaper! So be alert and arrive alive….
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Be
Alert, Arrive Alive…
From
September to November it is rutting season for deer where they mate and
migrate. Migratory deer means these months are the most dangerous in terms
of deer running out onto the road. The Transportation Ministry says that
between 1999 and 2003 in Ontario alone 24 people died in 22 collisions
with wildlife. During this same time period nearly 2000 people were
injured.