A new study found that the week after Daylight Saving Time ends, deer crashes go up.
The study was published in Current Biology by researchers from the University of Washington. They determined that the time change sees a 16 percent increase in deer-vehicle collisions every year.
Collisions are 14 times more frequent in the two hours after sunset, and changing the clocks means more drivers will be on the road during that time. Game Warden Ben Jedlicka explains how that will impact Kansas.
Changing clocks in November increases the amount of low-light traffic, putting more deer and vehicles at risk of accident. The amount of deer is increased in November as well, due to white-tailed deer’s short breeding season.
There are ways to control deer population, Jedlicka details out the three most effective.
States on the western edge of their respective time zones experiences smaller rates of these low-light accidents compared to states in the eastern edges. As Kansas is in the western half of Central Time, we expect to see a smaller increase.
