Overton Sheriff Emphasizes Safe Driving With Increase Deer Activity

An increase in deer activity for this time of year means motorists beware.

Overton County Sheriff John Garrett said that hunting season and rutting season are driving deer from their normal routines. He said that motorists should take time to slow down and drive carefully.

“The worst thing that they can do is panic,” Garrett said. “Slow down, stay on the roadway if at all possible, we never can tell what’s going to be in a ditch or if we swerve, if we make an erratic decision or an erratic movement without doing it safely or cautiously, we can potentially put ourselves as drivers at risk or other motorists.”

Garrett said that in cases where it doesn’t affect other drivers, using high beams is a good way to get a fuller view of the road. He also suggested anticipating deer crossings in order to prevent erratic decisions in a panic.

Garrett said that with crashes increasing dramatically during this time of year, it’s important to take caution wherever you drive be it in rural areas or in town.

“There are white-tailed deer from one end of the state to the other,” Garrett said. “They’re in neighborhoods it’s not just a country problem, it’s not a rural problem. Deer live everywhere. They live in town, they live on the outskirts of town they live in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the county or the state. So it’s not just an issue you have to be concerned about when driving through a rural area. When you’re driving through your neighborhood, you need to be concerned as well as especially at this time of year, especially at night, they’re going to be moving.”

Garrett said that hunting season beginning at the end of September paired with rutting season from October to December is the height of deer activity.