Melfort Fire responded to an SUV and deer collision on Wednesday, July 31. (Facebook/Melfort Fire and Rescue)

By Mat Barrett

Wildlife Collisions

Melfort Fire urging drivers to be aware when driving at night during summer

Aug 1, 2019 | 2:00 PM

After an SUV hit a deer on Wednesday, July 31 near Melfort, the local fire department is urging drivers to keep an eye out at this time of year.

The collision happened on Highway 6, just south of Melfort shortly before 10 p.m. There was also some fog in the area at the time, causing some reduced visibility.

Melfort’s Fire Chief Jason Everitt said awareness is key when it comes to animals at this time of year.

“As the temperatures start to cool off towards fall,” he said. “Obviously animals become much more active, so we want drivers to be aware of that.”

Everitt said if you can stop before hitting the animal, do so, but sometimes it’s not that easy.

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“What we don’t want to have happen is somebody to turn sharply and end up in the ditch and rolling their vehicle,” Everitt told northeastNOW. “The potential for injury is much more significant then, so if the collision is unavoidable, it’s probably best to hit the obstruction head on and let the vehicle do what it needs to do to protect you.”

Meanwhile, with the recent humidity, fog late at night is a definite concern as well. Everitt said the key is to not ‘outdrive’ your headlights. Simply slowing down is the easiest way to avoid any trouble while driving in some fog.

“We want people to just be aware of their surroundings and the limitations that, not only the equipment has, but your abilities to perceive what’s going on around you,” Everitt said. “So, if anything is affecting that or impairing that, we just ask people to drive according to the conditions.”

Everitt added when it comes to wildlife collisions, he hasn’t noticed more or less collisions than normal, just different types over recent years.

“Quite a while ago it was predominantly deer and smaller animals,” he said. “But now we’ve got larger animals such as moose moving around too, and that’s a significant hazard over and above what we used to see.”

SGI didn’t have any recent statistics at this time, but they did say that tens of thousands claims are made regarding wildlife collisions each year. Deer is the most common, but moose claims are in the thousands as well, and even damage from a collision with a bird is a possibility.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6