Deer crossing

What it means

This sign marks a stretch where deer regularly cross the road, based on recorded collision locations and animal movement patterns. Deer are most active at dawn and dusk, move in groups so that one visible animal usually means more nearby, and behave unpredictably: they may stop in the road, turn back the way they came, or bolt alongside your vehicle. In Colorado the risk is seasonal as well as daily, with autumn movement peaks. The sign cannot promise you will see the animal; it tells you the probability is high enough to change how you drive.

How it gets misread

Drivers often slow briefly for the sign itself and then accelerate, treating the marked stretch as a single point rather than a zone. Another misread is swerving hard to avoid an animal regardless of circumstances, which trades a likely animal strike for a possible rollover or head-on.

What to do

Reduce speed through the whole marked stretch, especially between dusk and dawn, and scan the roadsides as well as the pavement. If an animal appears, brake firmly in a straight line and stay in your lane; swerving only if a collision is unavoidable and the opposite lane is provably empty. Expect companions: where one deer stands, more are usually close.

Practise this rule

• Deer in Your Headlight Beam | CO

  A deer steps into your headlight beam on a dark two-lane road. What gives you the best chance of avoiding a serious crash?

More warning signs

• Cattle crossing →
• Bicycle crossing →

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