Deer are a known hazard to Upper Michigan drivers, but local auto body shops say they haven’t seen an increase so far this year in vehicle-deer crashes.
Last year, the number of car-deer crashes was down because of the pandemic.
But, local auto shops say that number hasn’t rebounded this year despite more traffic. Typically they say, it’s front end damage they see when dealing with car-deer crashes.
One possible reason for the low number this year they suspect is the new safety features on vehicles.
“Definitely the new vehicles with the ADAS systems, with advanced driver assist has helped a lot, that forward collision detection and assisted braking, that split second when a large animal walks out in front can help you avoid that collision,” said Stephen Dales, Marthaler Collision Center manger.
Marthaller and other collision repair centers do expect to see an increase in car-deer crashes in the fall when deer are on the move.
