Overview
- Researchers report deer-vehicle collisions increase about 16 percent in the week after the autumn time change, with crashes far more likely after dark.
- Authorities urge drivers to slow down, use headlights, scan for eyeshine, increase following distance, and avoid swerving if an animal is in the roadway.
- Experts note deer stay active at their usual dusk hours despite the clock shift, and seasonal rutting and migration push more animals toward roadways.
- AAA warns the one-hour switch can cause a mini–jet-lag effect that raises drowsy-driving risk, with data showing a sharp rise in late-afternoon crashes each November.
- Infrastructure fixes show strong results, with wildlife crossings and fencing cutting collisions by up to about 90 percent, including a 91 percent drop on I-25’s South Gap and a major Greenland overpass now under construction.