
Kansas Highway Patrol troopers or local law enforcement will worry about removing the animal from the road. If you have a cellular phone and are on a Kansas highway, dial *47 (*HP) for a highway patrol dispatcher, *582 (*KTA) for assistance on the Kansas Turnpike, or dial 911. Slow down, pull as far onto the shoulder as possible and turn on your emergency flashers.Even if you are waiting in your car, it is best to wear your seat belt, and have your children in car seats. Always wear a seat belt and use child safety seats for the kids.
#HIGHWAY TRAFFIC RACER PLANET DRIVERS#
Don’t swerve to avoid hitting a deer – the most serious crashes sometimes occur when drivers swerve and collide with another vehicle or run off the road and hit an obstacle. Use your bright lights to help you detect deer as far ahead as possible. Deer crossing signs indicate where high levels of deer/vehicle crashes have occurred in the past. Reduce speed and be alert near wooded areas or green spaces such as parks or golf courses and near water such as streams or ponds. Watch for more than one deer, as they seldom travel alone. Be especially watchful at dawn and dusk when deer are most active. Deer-vehicle crashes occur in all Kansas counties, but in most cases, counties with high human populations and high traffic volumes record the most crashes. Shorter fall days mean that dusk and dawn occur when commuter traffic is heaviest at the same time that deer are more likely to be on the move. Spring also brings an increased number of deer-vehicle collisions.ĭuring rut, deer focus on mating they travel more than in other seasons and pay less attention to hazards such as vehicles. Many move to new locations as crops are harvested and leaves fall from trees and shrubs, so the deer are less secure than in their summer habitats.
Deer can be spotted near roadways any time of the year, but motorists should be especially vigilant in the fall. Deer breeding season (rut) peaks in mid-November, and this marks the period when deer-vehicle collisions are most frequent.