By SALINA POST
If you're driving outside the city, you need to be especially vigilant these days.
Deer breeding season, or rut, is in full force, increasing the opportunities for deer-vehicle accidents.
For instance, during the past weekend, Saline County Sheriff's Office personnel worked seven deer-vehicle accidents, according to Sheriff Roger Soldan. The accidents ocurred throughout the county. Fortunately, Soldan said, no drivers were injured.
Early this morning, the McPherson County Sheriff's Office reported on its Facebook page that sheriff's personnel had taken 38 deer-vehicle collision reports in just 17 days.
According to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP), deer rut peaks in mid-November.
"During 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," KDWP reported on its website.
KDWP also offered the following tips for drivers.
●Be especially watchful at dawn and dusk when deer are most active.
●Watch for more than one deer, as they seldom travel alone.
●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.
●Deer crossing signs indicate where high levels of deer/vehicle crashes have occurred in the past.
●Use your bright lights to help you detect deer as far ahead as possible.
●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.
●Always wear a seat belt and use child safety seats for the kids. Even if you are waiting in your car, it is best to wear your seat belt, and have your children in car seats.
According to KDWP, if you hit a deer or other animal with your vehicle, you need to do the following.
●Slow down, pull as far onto the shoulder as possible and turn on your emergency flashers. 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.
●Do not worry about the animal. Kansas Highway Patrol troopers or local law enforcement will worry about removing the animal from the road. If the animal is in the road, tell the dispatcher when you call for help.
●If possible, remain in your vehicle and buckled up, so if a crash occurs involving your car or another vehicle nearby, you are more protected than if you are in the roadway or on the shoulder.
●If you must be outside of your vehicle, make sure it is as far off the road as possible and your hazard lights are activated. Don’t stand between your vehicle and another vehicle and make sure your children are kept properly restrained in your vehicle.
●If you have exited your vehicle, stay alert for traffic. If your vehicle is disabled at night, wait for law enforcement with extra lights so your vehicle is more visible to other motorists.
Someone wanting to remove any part of the deer carcass from the site of a wreck must have a salvage tag. According to KDWP, such tags can be issued by Kansas Highway Patrol troopers, sheriff's deputies, and KDWP game wardens.
Additionally, if you are involved in a deer-vehicle accident that results in personal injury or property damage of $1,000 or more, you are required to immediately report the accident to the nearest law enforcement agency, KDWP noted.