Driving at night can be nerve-wracking, especially in areas where wildlife is common. According to data from insurance company State Farm, there were more than 1.8 million claims related to animal-car collisions between July 2023 and June 2024. Most involved deer.

Though State Farm says we have about a 1 in 128 chance of being involved in a crash like this, there are some areas where the likelihood is even greater. In West Virginia, about 1 in 40 drivers can expect to have an animal collision, while 1 in 54 Montanans and 1 in 59 Michiganders will collide with an animal. The number of crashes involving deer are at their highest around November, and there are a variety of reasons why, including the fall time change. Read on to learn more.

Factors Involved

Mating Season

The deer rut, or their mating season, runs from October through December. This means bucks are focused on finding mates, while does are being pursued. The movement of both and their laser focus on reproduction often puts them around roads. As a result, cars are a bigger risk to them.

Dallas Barber, big game biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, explains, “As the rut starts to pick up, they put caution to the wind, and we’ll see an increase in collisions. A lot of the time with a vehicle, you’re either hitting a doe being pushed by a buck, or a buck that is chasing a doe that already crossed the road.” 

In the middle of this movement, something else happens that ups the ante on car crash risk.

Daylight Saving Time

The first weekend in November, we turn our clocks back an hour to return to standard time. This means evening commutes, especially in the northern states, occur in complete darkness. As deer are more active around dawn and dusk, this puts them near the road when there are suddenly more cars there.

A 2022 study published in the journal Current Biology analyzed more than a million deer collisions between 1994 and 2021. They found that deer collisions go up 16% in the week following the time change. This may not be surprising, as they also found that collisions are 14 times as likely two hours after sunset than they are before the sun goes down.

With deer already on the move with fawns in mind, it’s a double whammy of danger.

Laura Prugh, study co-author and associate professor of quantitative wildlife sciences at the University of Washington, says, “We believe that this fall spike really happens due to the overlap of these two factors: the breeding season and the change from daylight saving time back to standard time. We don’t see a corresponding shift in deer-vehicle collisions in the spring during the other time change, and we believe that’s in part because spring is not a breeding season for deer.”

Where possible, the researchers said avoiding driving in the dark can help keep wildlife safer.

Seasonal Migration

Another reason to limit night driving if you can is that as the temperatures begin to cool, more animals – including deer – head to lower elevations in search of food. Seasonal migrations like this occur during both the spring and fall, but the fall is especially dangerous. In wildlife-filled Utah, it's when the largest share of deer-involved crashes take place.

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Migration Initiative Coordinator Makeda Hanson says, "The peak time to hit deer in Utah is during November. It coincides with mating season and the annual migration of deer. Animals are crossing more roads during the migration, and male deer move around a lot more to find mates. It also doesn't help that the daylight hours are shorter during this time of year, creating lower visibility for drivers."

How to Keep Deer – and Yourself – Safe

So, with all these factors increasing the risk of a deer being hit, what can you do to keep yourself and animals safe? The main thing is to pay complete attention to the road, with no distractions, especially at dawn and dusk. Using high beams when there isn’t any oncoming traffic can increase your field of vision. Scan both sides of the road regularly, keeping alert for eyeshine, and recruiting anyone in your car to help.

If you happen to see a deer on the side of the road, slow way down. Even if they’re calmly eating grass, they could bolt at any minute. They could also double back if they’ve just crossed the road. If you see one deer, there are also likely to be more, so proceed at a slow speed and with caution.

It’s important to be aware of the prevalence of wildlife where you’re driving, as well. If you’re surrounded by woods, next to a wetland area or a park, or near a water source or any crops, it’s likely a riskier area.

Look for signs, too, both posted speed limits and those alerting you that you’re in a deer crossing area.

Keeping these tips in mind – and avoid night driving when you can – can do a lot to protect deer and yourself.