What does the deer crossing sign mean?

This sign is posted along a rural road and you are driving at dusk. What is the sensible response?

Slow down, scan the shoulders, and expect more than one animal

Deer move most at dawn and dusk and they rarely travel alone, so the one that crossed in front of you is often not the last. If a collision cannot be avoided, braking hard in your own lane is safer than swerving into oncoming traffic or a ditch.

This sign is posted on a highway and you are driving at dusk when an animal steps into your lane. What should you do?

Brake firmly in a straight line and stay in your own lane

Most of the serious injuries in animal collisions come from the swerve rather than the animal, because the vehicle either leaves the road or meets oncoming traffic. Brake hard in your own lane, and keep looking, since these animals travel in groups and where one has crossed another usually follows.

On a stretch of road marked with this sign, an animal crosses in front of you and reaches the far shoulder. What should you expect next?

More animals may follow the first one across

These animals travel in groups, so the one you see is often the first of several, and the ones behind cross without pausing at the edge. Slow right down and keep watching both shoulders until you are well past. Dawn and dusk are when this sign earns its place, because that is when the animals move and your eyes are at their worst.

This sign is posted on a highway you are driving at dusk in autumn, and a deer crosses the road well ahead of you. What is the sensible next move?

Slow down and keep scanning the shoulders, because deer usually travel in groups

Where one deer crosses, more are usually following, and the second one arrives just as a driver has relaxed. Dawn and dusk are when they move most, and their eyes catch your headlights before their bodies are visible. Braking in a straight line beats swerving, because a swerve at highway speed puts you in the other lane or off the road.

You see this sign on a wooded highway near Cape Breton at dusk. What risk should shape your next move?

Large animals may cross the road suddenly

The sign warns that deer may cross in this area. Watch the road edges and leave room to slow if an animal enters your path.

You are riding a rural road at dusk when this sign appears. What is the real difference between meeting a deer on a bike and meeting one in a car?

A car body absorbs the strike and a rider does not, so scanning early and cutting speed is the whole defence

An animal stepping out leaves you very little time and almost no room, and there is nothing between it and you. Riding at a speed you can stop within the distance you can actually see, and watching the verges rather than the middle of the road, is what buys the second you need.