A white-tailed deer stands in the street, September 10, 2021, in Freeport, Maine.
Robert F. Bukaty / AP
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Robert F. Bukaty / AP
A white-tailed deer stands in the street, September 10, 2021, in Freeport, Maine.
Robert F. Bukaty / AP
The end of daylight saving time resulted in a 16% increase in deer-vehicle collisions in the week after the time change, a New research shows.
Crashes of this type peak in late October and November due to less sunlight and less visibility for drivers, but these months are also deer mating season, so they move much more often.
About 2.1 million deer-deer collisions occur every year in the United States. According to the study, the long-term move to daylight saving time would reduce collisions by about 1.7%. Such a move would also prevent 2,054 injuries, 33 deaths, and $1.19 billion in damage each year. In contrast, a permanent move to standard time would increase the number of crashes by 3.5%.
The researchers examined about 1 million deer-deer collisions that occurred between 1994 and 2021 and found that 76 percent of them occurred at night.
Congress is consider making daylight saving time permanent. A 2019 poll from the Associated Press found that 31% of Americans support having DST year-round, while 40% favor having standard time year-round. 28% voted for a switch between the two.
