SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – If ice and snow didn’t already make driving tricky in the winter, there is another hazard you need to watch out for. The colder months bring deer and other wildlife to lower elevations looking for food, so you’re more likely to spot them darting across roads.

In just the last five years, Utah drivers have collided with wildlife over 14,000 times! Here are some things to know to help protect you, and the animals.

Most of these collisions involve deer, so it’s important to remember a few things:

• Deer travel together, so if you see one, there are probably others.
• They usually travel during dusk and dawn.
• They are most common on roads bordered by woods, fields or streams.

To avoid hitting a deer, slow down so you have more time to react. Scan the entire road, including the shoulders, for any wildlife.

If you see a “watch for wildlife” sign, that indicates an area that has seen a lot of collisions.

If you encounter a deer or other small animal in the road, slow down as much as possible, but don’t swerve. That could cause you to lose control or veer into oncoming traffic.

Hitting a deer will likely be less dangerous than a rollover or head-on collision.