BEATRICE, NEB. - With summer nearing an end and fall around the corner, it leads to an increased chance of deer/vehicle collisions.

The Gage County Sheriff’s office says there’s been an increase on these instances from 2020-2024.

“A good correlation between deer/car collisions is harvest time…. With deer moving more into pre rut and rut this time of year, they’re on the move a lot more as it gets darker every day.”

Chief Deputy Doug Klaus says deer/vehicle collisions jumped in 2023 with the county reporting 161 total accidents with 107 being deer collisions - about two-third’s. So far in 2024, the county has seen 107 accidents with 67 being deer/vehicle, even before pre rut.

Klaus provided tips as to how to try avoid such instances.

“Watch out for the second one, that’s the one that gets you,” Klaus said. “Look far ahead, watch the car in front of you, watch their break lights in the low light, dawn/dusk time frame.”

And if you’re unfortunate enough to strike a deer yourself, no matter what, Klaus recommends calling it in.

“Sometimes the deer is still alive and needs to be put down, maybe the deer is on the road way and is a traffic hazard for other motorists,” Klaus said. “Maybe for some trucks and SUV’s it doesn’t as much, but for low clearance vehicles it can cause a lot of damage.”