Deer and Ice, reducing deaths due to common road hazards in Wisconsin and Minnesota

Driver’s education plays an important role in reducing driving-related deaths because it educates new drivers on the laws surrounding driving and helps to inspire good habits. My driver’s ed class showed videos on the risks of drinking, texting and not wearing a seatbelt while driving. Not every new driver is going to practice good habits; However, showing those videos during drivers ed ensures that, at the very least, every one of them is informed of the risks they are taking if they choose not to. My drivers ed class also taught me the meaning of different road signs, when to turn at a traffic light, and how to handle a roundabout. All of that is important information to know before getting behind the wheel. Although I definitely didn’t enjoy it, the 50 hours I had to spend driving with an adult in the car before I took my drivers test were also very important for my learning how to drive. I also understand the purpose of the current system where one has to take three lessons with a driving instructor before their driver’s test. The lessons with the driving instructor make it very difficult to falsify driving hours.

I have been in two semi serious car accidents. Luckily no one was injured in either accident. During the first accident, my mom was driving and a deer jumped out into the road. My mom braked hard but we still hit the deer and another car hit us from behind. This is a relatively common occurrence in Wisconsin and Minnesota. For the last year, I have been attending the University of Wisconsin Madison. As such, I have driven down major Wisconsin highways in order to get home to Minnetonka, Minnesota. There were tons of dead deer just laying on the side of the road. This was because responsibility for cleaning them up had recently been transferred from the department of natural resources to the department of transportation and they weren’t being cleaned up as quickly as they used to be. This brought to my attention how common collisions with deer are on major highways in Wisconsin.

During the second accident I have been in, I was the one driving. It was right after the first major snowstorm of the year. I was relatively new to driving and I didn’t start stopping soon enough to avoid rear ending the car in front of me. The right turn lane I was slowing down in was not as well plowed or it had not been driven on as much as the rest of the road and it was very icy. I would have had enough room to stop had the conditions not been so icy. I heard from three other people in my high school that they had almost gotten into car accidents that day due to the icy conditions that morning.

One step that could be taken to reduce driving deaths would be to have a coordinated effort between high schools and their students to avoid having students drive in icy conditions. If the high school has adequate technological infrastructure, it should have the first major storms of the year or days with particularly icy conditions be online learning days. This would prevent inexperienced drivers from driving in icy conditions and hopefully reduce driving deaths. The only downside to this would be that it could create extra strain on teachers if not properly executed. However, Covid has shown that online learning is doable and some schools already use E learning days as an alternative to snow days. Another step that could be taken to reduce driving deaths would be to have local governments cull the numbers of deer by major roads. Additionally, they could impose reduced speed limits at dawn and dusk when deer are most active.

One of the things I and other drivers can do to make driving safer is to turn on do not disturb mode while driving so that we are not distracted by texts. I already do this and it is already taught in many drivers ed classes. Secondly, drivers should reduce their speed when driving at sunset and sunrise especially in forested areas and areas marked as deer crossings. If a car has passengers, those passengers could help watch for deer to reduce the chances of collisions with deer. Lastly, new drivers and their parents should make plans to practice in icy conditions while the student driver is getting their learning permit if the time of year allows for this. Parents could also plan to have the student ride the bus, or get a ride with a more experienced driver on days with bad driving weather, if circumstances allow.