AAA advises drivers to watch for deer on drive home as the sun sets earlier

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The sun sets earlier in the evening after the clocks were set back Sunday for Daylight Saving Time, which means some people will be driving home in the dark while deer are at peak activity for the day.

AAA is advising drivers to keep an eye out for deer and warn them that swerving to avoid one can be deadly.

“Every instinct tells you to swerve, but following that instinct is often what gets people hurt,” AAA spokesperson Carly McKinnis wrote in a press release.

According to the release, over 2,800 Missouri crashes involved deer in 2025, killing six people and injuring over 400. November had the most crashes last year, with 678.

While crash numbers are down overall, there were two more deadly crashes in 2025 than there were in 2024, the release says.

AAA research suggests drivers shouldn't swerve to avoid deer because that could mean crashing into another car, a tree or a rollover.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety looked at federal crash data from 2020 to 2024 and found that hitting an animal in a vehicle was deadly in about 19% of those crashes. The release says hitting a tree or another object was the most common in deadly crashes, making up 33%, followed by rollovers.

Nationally, there are over 353,800 deer crashes reported to police every year, according to the release.

The ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather team reports that the colder weather that is arriving late this fall is playing a role in deer movement, plus Daylight Saving Time could mean deer activity overlaps with the end-of-day commute for drivers.