The combination of harvest, hunting, and mating seasons inevitably leads to deer moving around a lot more in the coming months. As such, Washington County Sheriff Jerry Dunbar advises motorists to be on high alert for deer on the road. He says the deer population in the area is very high, and the number of deer-related accidents has been steadily increasing. He emphasizes when you are in areas marked with the yellow deer signs, to slow down and stay alert.

In addition to deer having a tendency to move around a lot during mating season, the harvest also takes away from certain places they may have been living, which causes them to move as well. That’s compounded by the possibility of hunters spooking deers out of wooded areas. Dunbar says from now until January, that increase in movement will create many opportunities for deer to be on roadways, but if people pay closer attention, many collisions involving deer can be avoided.