What to do if a deer runs in front of your car

We are almost at that most dangerous time of year. While a deer can dart in front of your car at any point, it's far more likely starting about now and reaching its peak about a week before Thanksgiving. It's their mating season, and deer get far more active and far less careful. How dangerous is your county? Dino Flammia has this county by county breakdown of just how many deer carcass pickups there were last year. I live in the second worst county on this list. While I have yet to hit a deer, I feel like it's just a matter of time.

What can you do to keep yourself safer? I ran across something interesting today. While most sources out there like this story published in usatoday.com and this one from an auto insurer say to never swerve, today is the first time I heard someone say you should also never brake.

Check out this news clip of a guy named Randy Rand of Jungle Survival Driving Training being interviewed on a Michigan tv station. He was being asked to give his expert advice on what to do in that split second when you realize a deer is in the road. He said you should just take the hit and take out the animal. He says not only should you never swerve but you should also never brake.

His point is most of us are not very aware what's happening behind our cars; we're focused forward. If there's someone following too closely behind (and in Jersey let's face it that's pretty often) it can end in catastrophe. Now every other source I saw said slow down, and brake as much as possible. Some sources say brake if you're not being tailgated. To Randy's point, that's pretty difficult to ascertain in a blink of an eye decision moment. Still other sources warn that you should brake but let go of the brake at the moment of impact so that your car's front end comes back up a little and lessens the chance of the deer traveling up over your hood and crashing in through your windshield. That's an awful lot to process for a completely unexpected event.

Is Randy right? Should you never brake when a deer darts out? It seems like overcoming the urge to swerve is difficult enough. The idea of having the presence of mind to also not brake seems all but impossible.

A few things everyone can agree on. Slow down this time of year when you're driving through areas known for high deer activity. If you do hit one, it will make the damage to your car that much less. Use your high beams when there's no oncoming traffic to blind and no one in front of you. Don't stare at any one thing. Keep your eyes moving from left to right. While paying attention to what's happening on the road itself let your peripheral vision scan the tree lines on the sides of the road. Remember if you see one deer there will almost always be more to follow.

Tens of thousands of cars hit deer every year in New Jersey. Nationally, more than 150 drivers die every year due to a deer car collision. Please keep your eyes open and for God's sake put the phone away.

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