Deer Crashes in Delaware

Presented by the Director of Public Information Sergeant Richard D. Bratz

The Delaware State Police would like to remind motorists that the deer rut and hunting season is fast-approaching during the months of October and November; therefore, we would like to help prevent the spike in deer-related crashes that typically occur every fall in Delaware. Our news releases will go out to inform travelers three different times in the next few months starting in September until December. The friendly reminders will hopefully keep our drivers safe, more alert and will also lead them to slow down during this specific time of the year.

In 2015, there were 876 deer crashes investigated in Sussex County; 391 in Kent County and 524 in New Castle County. Majority of deer activity resulting in crashes occurred during the dusk and dawn hour.

Overall, many of these animal or deer-related crashes occurred along the main corridors of SR 1, U.S. Route 13 and U.S. Route 113 during the 6:00 a.m. hour. During the 5:00 p.m. hour a significant number of crashes occurred on secondary roads.

Please be careful when traveling and keep a sharp eye out for deer crossing roadways, especially at dusk. Deer are even more active due to their annual mating season ‘rut’ in November with bucks chasing doe through fields, marshes and woods. The average white-tailed deer in Delaware weighs approximately 130 pounds, with larger bucks tipping the scales at 180 pounds or more. With the increased white-tailed deer activity, Delaware motorists are kindly reminded to stay alert and to be ready for a deer to dart out into the roadway from dusk to dawn.

A deer crash can result in serious injury or death to you or your passengers as well as serious damage to your vehicle.

Safety Tips That May Help Prevent Deer Crashes

• Attentive driving and slow speeds are the best ways to avoid deer crashes.
• Turn your headlights on at dawn and dusk and keep your eyes on the road, scanning the sides of the road as well as what’s ahead of you. When there is no oncoming traffic, switch to high beams to better reflect the eyes of deer on or near the roadway.
• To reduce your risk of injury in a collision, always wear your seatbelt.
• Be especially aware of any distractions.
• Watch for “Deer Crossing” signs that mark commonly-traveled areas, and be aware that deer typically cross between areas of cover, such as woods or where roads divide agricultural fields from woods.
• If you see a deer crossing the road ahead, slow down immediately and proceed with caution until you are past the crossing point. Deer usually travel in groups, so if you see one deer, there are likely to be others.
• Slow down and blow your horn with one long blast to frighten deer away. Do not rely on devices such as deer whistles, deer fences and reflectors to deter deer, as these devices have not been proven to reduce deer crashes.
• Do not swerve to miss a deer – brake and stay in your lane. Losing control of your vehicle, crossing into another lane, hitting an oncoming vehicle or leaving the roadway and hitting another obstacle such as a tree or a pole is likely to be much more serious than hitting a deer.
• If you hit a deer, stop at the scene, get your car off the road if possible and call police. Do not touch the animal or get too close. “A frightened and wounded deer can cause serious injury to a well-meaning person trying to ‘help.’ You could be bitten, kicked or even gored by a buck’s antlers. Keep a safe distance and wait for troopers to arrive.
• Highways and SR (state routes) are often lined with lights, which leads operators to believe they will be able to better see deer approaching roadways; however, due to the increase of speed on such roadways and the lights making deer eyes less visible, it’s likely that deer are actually MORE DIFFICULT to spot, when travelling on highways and SR’s.
• When travelling during the high deer crossing time frames, each driver should always be considering whether his/her speed would be acceptable IF a deer were to cross in front of him/her at any particular moment.
• Refrain from looking down, or at something else when you are travelling, especially during these critical time frames, for it’s only a split second that can make the difference between striking a deer and being able to slow down in time to avoid a deer.

New Castle County Deer Collision Hot Spots 2016

	New Castle County Deer Collisions by Month and Year
	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016*
Jan	32	43	33	46	25	45
Feb	31	30	27	34	32	27
Mar	25	23	34	40	37	38
Apr	23	28	30	22	25	38
May	27	24	18	20	31	29
Jun	17	34	22	27	27	25
Jul	19	24	20	14	24	14
Aug	11	12	12	16	16	18
Sep	22	23	26	22	17	14
Oct	86	64	98	75	104
Nov	104	123	123	126	152
Dec	46	46	53	46	34
Total	443	474	496	488	524	248

Top Roads for Deer Crashes in New Castle County

Limestone Road near area of New Linden Hill Rd and Kirkwood Highway

State Rt 1 near Odessa

River Rd near Delaware City to New Castle area

Centre Rd near Gilpin Drive

Kent County Deer Collision Hot Spots for 2016

	Kent County Deer Collisions by Month and Year
	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016*
Jan	22	28	22	29	28	30
Feb	31	11	16	29	20	19
Mar	15	22	35	23	23	28
Apr	26	16	25	19	28	22
May	23	18	24	17	28	24
Jun	26	14	26	22	22	33
Jul	13	14	20	11	22	16
Aug	11	10	13	13	11	12
Sep	17	10	23	11	17	15
Oct	52	45	43	60	64
Nov	75	66	96	93	90
Dec	35	23	33	27	38
Total	346	277	376	354	391	199

Top Roads for Deer Crashes in Kent County

State Rt 1, North side of Dover

Bay Road near the Frederica area

South DuPont Highway, Camden to the Harrington Area

South State Street, Camden to the Magnolia area

 Sussex County Deer Collision Hot Spots for 2016

	Sussex County Deer Collisions by Month and Year
	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016*
Jan	62	58	46	63	60	53
Feb	63	58	45	68	38	62
Mar	65	60	57	56	59	76
Apr	47	60	72	53	57	66
May	63	63	55	46	57	57
Jun	45	59	64	74	59	71
Jul	39	37	53	40	47	47
Aug	29	34	39	28	53	44
Sep	53	54	46	35	49	37
Oct	117	83	84	122	103
Nov	188	157	180	206	192
Dec	90	68	66	66	102
Total	861	791	807	857	876	513

 Top Roads for Deer Crashes in Sussex County:

DuPont Boulevard, USRT 113 between Georgetown and Millsboro

Coastal Highway, SR 1 near Milton and the Lewes area

John J. Williams Hwy, SR 24 between Millsboro and Rehoboth area

State Route 26 in the Millsboro and Dagsboro area

Redden Road SR 40 between Georgetown and Bridgeville

US 13 just south of the county line in the area of Greenwood Road

US 13 north of Bethel Concord Road and south of Brickyard Road

**The Delaware State Police issues this traffic advisory and wishes you safe travel as you reach your destination.**

For more information please contact:

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control - Joanna Wilson at 739-9902 

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police - Sergeant John McDerby at 354-1386

Natural Resources Police (Fish and Wildlife) would like to kindly remind the public that it is illegal to possess a deer killed as the result of a vehicle accident unless the deer has been examined and tagged by an officer (DE Title 7 Sec. 794). Anyone who would like to take possession of a deer killed on the road can obtain a vehicle-killed deer tag from Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, 1-302-739-4580.  For information about white-tailed deer in Delaware, the Division of Fish & Wildlife can be contacted at 1-302-739-9912.