Collisions occur most often in prime moose or deer habitat such as forested areas and waterways. If you see a deer or moose crossing sign, be extra alert and slow down. Moose and deer cross roads for a wide variety of reasons and at different times of the year. Often they want to get to another part of their habitat. Rutting season and hunting season also cause them to move. Stay alert.;
, Do not speed when you are driving through moose or deer country. You'll still arrive if you go more slowly and you'll have more time to avoid an animal if you spot it. Wildlife experts have recommended 90 kph/55 mph as a suitable speed for wildlife zones in good weather conditions, as it provides you with some reaction time to stop. Here are the things that suffer when you travel at too great a speed:


You can't stop quickly enough to avoid a collision.
The impact of a car/truck is far greater the faster you travel.
Your ability to take evasive action is massively reduced and you're more likely to resort to swerving instead of braking and gently responding.
 Be prepared to take evasive action, which includes being able to quickly slow down, brake suddenly or turn down blinding headlights. Drive so that you are able to stop within the space of your headlights; practice this in a safe area if you don't know how fast this is for your vehicle. Make sure your seat belt is on and check that all passengers are wearing theirs as well. A sudden lurch could have people catapulting from the car.
 Actively scan the sides of the roads as you drive for any signs of wildlife. If you have passengers, get them involved but ask them not to shout out as this is very startling and can cause the driver to react incorrectly. Ask them to calmly tell you that they see moose or deer lurking about. Look on the road sides, the shoulders, down into ditches (they love the grass there), median strips, intersecting roads, on the road itself and try to spot any signs of movement, flashes of eyes or body shapes.


Watch both sides of the road; there is some evidence that drivers tend to watch the side of the road next to the passenger seat more than their own side, making a false assumption that only one side is a problem. Scan both sides!

, Deer and moose seem to move most in the hours around sunset to midnight and again around dawn. These are also the hardest times for our eyes to adjust to the light because it's neither completely dark nor properly light, so we find it more difficult to see well. If you don't feel alert or can't see properly at these times, save your trip for another time.


Be on the lookout -- if you see one deer or moose, there are likely to be more deer or moose nearby, even if you don't see them. If you see one creature, it's more likely that you'll run into more.
 Use your high beams where possible and when there are no oncoming cars that you can startle with them; they will illuminate more of the area that you are travelling through. Here are some other precautions to take when you're driving in the dark:


Move into the centre lane if you are travelling in a 3 lane road, or centre the car as much as possible if it is a 2 lane road.
Make sure your windshield is clear and is not reflecting grime, preventing you from seeing clearly.
Drive below the speed limit, which has fuel economy benefits as well as safety benefits.
Scan the sides of the road for animals' reflective eyes, often visible at a great distance at night. Sometimes this is the only visible part of the animal until it is directly in your path.
 If you see flashing lights (hazard or headlights), hear tooting horns or see people waving madly about, slow down and be ready to stop! Of course, if a car stops suddenly ahead of you, you should also stop or at least slow right down. In these situations, the other cars may well have stopped because animals are already crossing the road ahead of you.
 You've just driven into the outskirts of town, so everything is safe now, right? Wrong! Moose and deer wander into towns and city outskirts in search of food. They could be munching away on the median strip or bolting from someone's front garden. Still drive carefully. When you do come across a deer or a moose, don't expect them to react rationally.


Blasting horns, flashing lights and a swerving metal machine are likely to terrify the animal witless and it will more than likely dart into your way rather than out of it. Bucks have been known to charge a stopped or moving cars of any size.
 If you suddenly have a deer before your car, brake firmly. Do not swerve and leave your lane; many accidents are not due to colliding with the deer but are the result of driving into another car or truck in the opposite lane while trying to avoid the animal. The best thing to do is drive defensively in the first place and go slowly enough that you won't collide with a moose and can brake in time.
 Only do this if the deer is far enough ahead and there are no cars around that can be disoriented by the honking. This may scare the deer away, but there's no guarantee that it will make the deer run off the road. If you're quite close to the deer, you may want to avoid honking at it, because the deer may get confused and come closer to you.
Heed the warning signs.
Drive at a safe speed.
Drive defensively.
Observe your surroundings.
Be especially wary at sunset and sunrise.
Drive carefully at night.
Slow down when other cars are behaving differently.
Be alert -- even when you're approaching a town or a city.
Know when not to swerve.
Honk your horn at the deer or moose in short bursts.
{"src": "wikihow-all_test", "title": "How to Avoid a Moose or Deer Collision1"}