More deer versus vehicle crashes are being reported locally and the Ohio State Highway Patrol is issuing another safety reminder.
New Philadelphia Post Sgt. Bill Bower says Wednesday evening troopers delt with eight crashes.
“And out of the eight crashes I believe seven of them were deer related. We’re handling anywhere, on a daily basis, five to eight deer crashes a day.”
Bower stresses for drivers to be aware especially during the morning commute between the hours of 4:30 to 6.
“They are moving so badly and there’s times where our dayshift is not even making it into the post. Our units they go from their house and signal on and they’re immediately getting sent to deer crashes 5/5:30 in the morning. “People just have to be aware especially traveling in the morning like at 4:30, 5, or 6 in the morning when it’s still dark. That’s like the most frequent time when these deer are moving.”
Peak hours are also in the evening between 5 and 8pm. Bower offers a few tips for those driving that may come across a deer on the road.
“Stay in your lane, controlled breaking, don’t swerve, try to limit what’s going to happen if you do have to hit a deer.”
OSP data shows that from January 1st to November 13th, Tuscarawas County has had 393 deer-related crashes. The top three crash routes is I-77, US 250, and SR 39.
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