You always have to consider that more often than not there are additional deer you're not seeing. While you're trying to evade the deer you see, there may be five or six more deer that you don't see. Slowing down is the only tactic that gives you more time to react to the unexpected. Shelton also urges drivers to be cognizant of their surroundings and to make a habit of recognizing potential areas for deer-vehicle accidents. He said many of these accidents occur over and over again in the same spots where the natural habitat encourages deer to cross public thoroughfares.
Deer tend to move along waterways, fence rows, field edges and wooded corridors.
More than 17,000 deer-vehicle accidents occur every year in Illinois. In those cases, the driver of the vehicle involved in the deer-vehicle accident has the priority in possessing the deer. If the driver doesn't want the deer, any Illinois resident may claim the animal. Individuals will be issued an authorization number, which will allow for the lawful possession of the deer. Those who claim a deer following an accident must call within 24 hours if the collision occurred Monday through Thursday.