Careful! The Deer Aren’t Done Getting Freaky In South Jersey Quite Yet

If you’ve been on the roads lately, you already know the deer situation is out of control. I drove about 45 minutes to a doctor’s appointment today and counted seven dead deer on the shoulder. Seven. I felt like I was playing some sort of gnarly morbid roadside bingo.

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With Thanksgiving next week, traffic is about to get thicker than your aunt’s mashed potatoes. Add in the fact that we’re smack-dab in the middle of rut season, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for some seriously unpredictable deer behavior.

It’s Peak Rut Season In South Jersey

For anyone not familiar with what that means, rut season is when the deer are… uh… working on producing the adorable little fawns you’ll be seeing everywhere next spring. When nature calls, nothing… not cars, not guardrails, not your travel schedule… is stopping them from sprinting across the road like they’re late for a date.

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New Jersey’s peak deer mating season runs from late October through mid-December, and that means the next few weeks are prime time for sudden deer dashes. * See what I did there? * Bucks especially are out here making terrible decisions, chasing anything that moves, and possible getting all tangled and mangled up against your headlights.

How to Stay Safe on the Roads

You can’t control the deer, but you can control your driving. Slow down. Stay alert. Don’t rush, even if you’re trying to make it to Friendsgiving on time…. Or the bar on Thanksgiving Eve. Make sure you give yourself plenty of extra travel time over the entire holiday week.

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South Jersey roads get wild this time of year. Be careful, keep your eyes moving, and remember: the deer aren’t done getting freaky yet.