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Deer In Your Headlights? Here's What You Can Do

BALTIMORE (WJZ)—Defying a national trend, the number of cars and trucks in Maryland that are running into deer is increasing.

As Mike Schuh reports, there are a couple of counter-intuitive actions you should take if you're about to hit a deer.

Quick. You're just driving along and a deer is lit up in your headlights. What do you do?

A million and a half motorists nationwide will hit the deer. And in Maryland, State Farm says 32,000 such collisions will make us the 13th most dangerous.

Right about now deer, particularly the bucks, lose their minds. All they are thinking about is how to make more deer.

Andrea Decatur frequently sees deer on her travels but has never hit one.

"I would try to avoid a collision, but I don't know what I would do though," Decatur said. "I need to go to how to avoid hitting a deer training school."

Experts in these things say that if you come upon a deer in the road, you may have to hit the deer.

It's important you don't swerve. You could go off the road, hit a tree or go into oncoming traffic.

"We see that a lot," said Lt. Jim Dewees, Maryland State Police. "People swerve and hit a car coming in the opposite direction."

As a trooper, Dewees has driven countless miles. He says he's hit a deer, "many a time."

He says don't slam on the brakes or swerve as the deer will startle.

"If all else fails and the only thing you have is hitting the deer as opposed to running off the road, hitting a tree or another car, then sorry for the deer," Dewees said.

But it's welcome training for Decatur.

"Well, I believe man is on the top of the food chain, so I would never risk my own life for an animal," she said.

Beware. We're surrounded by states with higher deer accident figures. In fact, West Virginia is the worst. Pennsylvania is the 6th, and Virginia is the 11th.

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