Area county roads are littered with deer carcasses and officials are warning residents to be more alert when driving.
Since Aug. 15, Saunders County Sheriff Kevin Stukenholtz said his department has responded to 15 motor vehicle crashes involving deer.
“Those are just the ones who call in and ask for a report to be made,” he said. “They’re not required to file.”
Motorists are not required to file police reports, but are required to self-file a report to the state if damage to the vehicle is more than $1,000. Those forms can be picked up at any law enforcement agency.
Dodge County deputies don’t normally respond to property damage only accidents with deer.
“The only time we go is if there’s an injury or the car is disabled,” Sheriff Steve Hespen said. “We tell them if they have more than $1,000 damage to fill out the state form. Anymore, most people don’t even call.”
More than one-third of all accidents in Washington County this year have involved a deer. Through Friday morning, 75 of the county’s 212 accidents involved a deer and two of those involved injuries.
That’s up slightly from 2007 when during the same time frame, deer were
involved in 69 of 221 crashes and three of those involved injuries.
Deputies aren’t immune to the problem, said Chief Deputy Ben Scherer.
He said that so far this year there have been four crashes between deer and cruisers, along with two crashes involving raccoons and one involving a large bird.
While insurance does pay for the cruiser damage, it’s still costly to the department, he said.
“A cruiser can be down a week or two depending on the amount of damage,” Scherer said. “The deputies are assigned to a unit so they can respond to calls from home. When a unit’s down, they have to get another one from another deputy. That doubles the miles on a unit.”
Dodge and Saunders counties haven’t had any cruisers damaged, but citizens are seeing the damage.
“It seems like quite a few, especially when you have three in one night (like a recent night),” Stukenholtz said. “It’s mating season and with the combines in the fields, that drives them out.”
He said his deputies report seeing deer near roads two to three times every night.
“The greatest frequency is from dusk until dawn,” Stukenholtz said.
Scherer said that the deer are heavy on U.S. Highway 75 and Nebraska Highway 133. He said the river can be an added cause of deer on the roads.
These accidents can often be avoided.
“You’ve got to be aware of your surroundings at all times,” Scherer said. “Drive cautiously.”
When they can’t be avoided, there is hope to make them less serious.
“The slower you’re going, the less chance for injury and large damages,” Stukenholtz said.
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