The history of SRS deer-vehicle
accidents...
In 1951
small groups of white-tailed deer existed in remote areas
of what is now 
known as the Savannah River Site (SRS). As
the idle farmland was converted to pine plantations and
public hunting was suspended, these deer began to increase
dramatically in number. By 1965 the deer population on the
SRS had increased to the point where vehicle accidents were
occurring at a high rate. In that year, public hunting was
begun on the SRS to control the number of deer and reduce
the number of acci-dents. In 1990 the Savannah River Ecology
Labor-atory (SREL) be-gan a study to better understand the
factors that were contributing to deer-vehicle ac-cidents.
The information presented here is based upon analyses of
nearly 1,000 collisions between deer and vehicles in the
1990’s on the SRS.
Statistics on deer-vehicle accidents...
Deer-vehicle accidents on the SRS resulted in an average
of $110,000 per year in reported damage to personal and
government property over the six-year period between 1990
and 1995. Injured or dead deer are also found without anyone
reporting the accident or the amount of damage to their
vehicles. We estimate this unreported damage could be as
much as $20,000 per year.
When do accidents occur?
Most accidents occur during dawn
and dusk, a period of two hours before and after sunrise
and one hour before to four hours after sunset. Few accidents
occur outside of these times and the majority occur within
one hour before and after sunrise and sunset. There is a
strong seasonal pattern to accident occurrence which does
not vary greatly among years. The majority of accidents
occur in the fall of the year, within a 60 day period around
the peak of the mating season. During this time most accidents
involve large breeding males that are moving within the
population and across roads to secure mates. Does are involved
in accidents during the spring and summer while moving to
and from their fawns and feeding sites. Contrary to what
most people believe, accidents occurring in the fall are
essentially independent of site-wide hunting activities.
When accidents occur is a function of the behavior of both
deer and humans.
Where do accidents occur?
Accidents occur on all paved roads on the SRS. However,
contrary to popular belief, deer accident locations do not
have a predictable pattern in space. Even though accidents
may occur more often on some roads in certain years than
in others, these patterns are not repeated from one year
to the next. The overall pattern of accident locations does
not vary greatly among seasons of the year. There is some
suggestion that the type of roadside vegetation and the
location of creek bottoms may lend some predictability to
where accidents occur. Clustering of accident locations
does not occur in such a way that the number of accidents
could be reduced by the strategic placement of warning signs.
Trends in number of employees,
deer, and deer-vehicle accidents...
Over the years the number of employees on the SRS and the
time at which they travel to and from work has changed.
This has resulted in different numbers of employees driving
on site roads during periods of maximum deer activity. The
number of accidents is most likely related to the amount
of traffic at these critical times and the number of deer
in the population. The tendency for certain employees to
work longer days has increased the probability that they
will be involved in a deer-vehicle accident. The places
where employees work on the SRS also have shifted over the
years, and this further complicates the explanation for
the patterns of deer-vehicle accidents.
Reduce your chances of having
a deer-vehicle accident:
- Slow down. Reduced speed
will make it more likely that you can avoid a collision
with a deer. Most accidents occur under optimal driving
conditions on clear days and straight roads.
- Stay alert. The hours before
and after sunrise and sunset are when most accidents occur.
The months of
October and November are when most accidents occur
during the year, and these involve primarily large
- One deer often means more deer.
Deer frequently travel in groups, so when one deer crosses
the road, there may be others waiting to cross. Slow down
after the first crossing and watch for others to dash
into the road. Deer are often anxious to stay in their
group and will feel compelled to rejoin it.
- Deer tend to occur in the same
places over time. If you see deer along the road,
that should alert you to the likelihood that there will
be deer in that place in the future.
- Control the number of deer.
There is a need to continue public hunting or to institute
some other form of control on the SRS to keep the number
of deer reduced. Both bucks and does of all ages are involved
in accidents.
- Harvest deer along paved roads.
Deer on the SRS tend to live most of their lives
in a limited area called their home range. Eliminating
deer living right next to the road should reduce the number
of accidents along that road, because it will take time
for deer to reoccupy that area.
- Manage employee schedules to reduce
traffic. Ways should be sought to reduce the number
of vehicles traveling on the roads during periods of high
deer activity.
Deer-Vehicle Accidents
on the SRS 
(back to Research Snapshots)
