Deer are very active in Illinois this time of year and motorists are advised to watch out for them, especially in rural areas.
Josh Kauffman with the Illinois Department of Transportation says 2010 say a decline in car versus deer crashes to the lowest levels since 1999, but there were still over 17,000 of them. He advises to slow down in areas where deer are likely to be such as near fields, water and wooded areas.
Kauffman says if you hit a deer, make sure everyone is okay. Drivers and passengers are asked to provide assistance to anyone injured and then call police to respond to the crash.
Motorists are urged to be particularly cautious at dawn and dusk and to try to remember where you have seen deer before. 77-percent of deer related crashes occur in rural areas and 67-percent when it's dark.
