Life in the Palmetto State: October surprise on the roads

Gotcha, and I bet you thought this was going to be an article about politics, one that dug deep into the inner workings of this thing we call democracy.

I have never been so sickened as I am with the hit jobs on the candidates during voting season, especially these midterms.

You will know I have completely lost my mind when I start writing about politics. Me being the patriot that I am, I have gotten to the point that I disdain anything closely associated with politics and Washington. It seems like our government does everything it can to hoo doo its constituency.

No, this surprise is more along the lines of the four-legged furry variety that wreaks havoc on our nerves and vehicles: our white tail deer population.

I usually title this particular annual article as "Driving deerfensively" but thought I would change up this year just because.

Now, I could look up and list all kinds of statistics based on car versus deer accidents, and you could do that as well, probably better than me.

However, this time, I am just going to elaborate on my experiences that I have lived and suffered through in my 60+ years of living in the country.

DISCLAIMER: This is by no means endorsed by any official organization advising the public as to how to deal with deer and deer collisions. This is just an old country boy and how he has learned to navigate a "deer environment" living where he does.

First off, I live and travel through their world every day, expecting any minute to see their brown flash in front of me, especially this time of the year.

A little history of our deer populations.

I will soon be 65 years old, and when I was a kid growing up in Clarendon County, deer were nowhere near as numerous as they are now. One reason is deer hunting clubs have quit "dog driving" (that's where a group of hunters or standers encircle a block of timber and put the dogs out and they chase deer out in the open and the hunter harvests the deer). The highways and back roads were riddled with trucks with dog boxes engaged in this fall ritual that kept the deer populations within manageable numbers. Deer-versus-car collisions were minimal at best growing up.

But as things always do, deer hunting morphed into another whole style of hunt.

The days of a group of men and some ladies meeting on an early Saturday planning their collective hunt gave way to still hunters (hunters sitting in a blind or tree stand) and their endless expensive pursuit of that elusive prey that drives some men crazy. Consequently, because the hunters-to-acres hunted ratio has changed drastically and not nearly the numbers of deer have been harvested, the population exploded and we have what we have today. That's why in the last 20 or so years car-versus-deer accidents have exploded.

Here are some tips to help you survive your travels through these battle zones.

Always be ready for that brown flash. It can come from out of nowhere, and the next thing you know you have demolished your car and worse, you are injured.

This time of the year bucks are chasing does. It's rut, and does are in estrus.

While I am not qualified to biologically discuss or explain a deer's maternal cycles, I do know, however, the urgency to breed far outweighs their ability to coexist with humans.

These does are basically running as if to survive, and their reckless behavior is caused by the buck's relentless drive to procreate, which makes this time of the year dangerous at best to drive your vehicle after dark.

Without discussing the nocturnal habits of our white-tailed friends, let me leave you with just a few examples that just may save your vehicle or your life.

If one deer or a whole herd were to jump out in front of you, don't swerve. Brake and keep the car headed straight. At that point, damage is inevitable. Your reaction to this nerve-wracking incident can be the difference between life and death.

Don't swerve; hit the dang deer. It's easier to replace a grille than it is your life.

If you are driving and you see a deer or several deer cross the road up ahead, slow down until you get to that location because they have friends or buddies cocked and primed ready to ruin your day.

Lastly, and this is what I tell all my family and anyone who would listen.

If you do have to take evasive action, always, always head for the tail.

When a deer jumps out in front of you, it is impossible for them to stop and back up, so your path to freedom is shorter behind the deer as opposed to outrunning them to their head.

As I said, the "pearls of wisdom" espoused in this article are all mine.

I have gained this knowledge through vast trial and error and my desire to live among the crazies.

Happy hunting, and may God bless you.

Lee Reaves Jr. is president of Clarendon County Historical Society.