A close encounter with a white-tail doe was a scary reminder that November is deer mating season and the month to be on the lookout for deer darting across highways and back roads.
Right now is the peak of the rut, as deer mating season is known. Bucks and does are on the move big time and may dash from out of nowhere into traffic in the middle of town or out in the country.
Tooling along a two-lane state highway near Rogers last week, a big doe sprinted out of the woods and across the asphalt. That deer was too close for comfort, but far enough away that tapping the brakes avoided a visit to the local body shop.
There's danger in front of a vehicle and behind it, too, when a deer runs on to the highway. Deer-car collisions no doubt do serious damage to a vehicle's front. Braking to miss a deer can mean damage to the rear. Here's why.
Many of us drive the speed limit or slightly above it, but that's not fast enough for a lot of other folks. On a two-lane highway, chances are the driver behind you will be following too close as if trying to read the expiration sticker on your license plate.
When that deer runs across the highway and you hit the brakes, could be you'll get a double whammy hitting the deer and getting smacked from behind by the tailgater. The outcome: one dead deer, two wrecked vehicles. Tailgating is rude any time, but it's wise in November to keep extra distance between your car and the one in front of you.
Morning and evening are prime time for deer movement, but they can appear any time of day. With does, if one doe crosses the road it's likely there's another doe right behind it.
I can testify from personal experience that bicycle riders should be on guard as well. One Sunday many moons ago our little Tour de Madison County bicycle group was flying down a steep hill as fast as you'd want to go on a bike.
I was in the lead when a buck with antlers that looked like an elk ran full bore right in front of me sprinting from the wooded roadside. That speeding buck never looked at me, evidently hot on the trail of a doe. All I remember was hearing the gal behind me scream and this brown blur passed in front of me so close I could almost smell that deer.
Another half second down that hill, and I might have been impaled by a mass of antlers. I'll wager the outcome would have been worse for me than the deer being struck with a lightweight road bike.
This was on a state highway out in the boons, but it could easily happen on the Razorback Greenway. We've seen bucks chasing does across the middle of downtown intersections. No doubt there are plenty of deer lurking to wreak November havoc along the greenway.
When the rut winds down around Thanksgiving, be thankful if you haven't hit any deer.
Flip Putthoff can be reached at [email protected]