protecting your car's finish from tree damage

If you manage a fleet of commercial vehicles for your retail, manufacturing, or shipping business in an area teeming with whitetail deer, you may find yourself dreading the inevitable phone call from an employee after he or she has struck a deer with one of your fleet vehicles. Paying insurance and repair costs for multiple deer-related collisions can quickly start to add up, and you may be anxiously searching for ways to reduce the risk of your employees striking deer while driving a company vehicle. Read on to learn more about preventing deer-related damage to your fleet:

Invest in whistles

One inexpensive way to help repel deer from running in front of your fleet vehicles is to install small "deer whistles" on either side of your front bumper. When your vehicle is traveling at a high rate of speed, the air flowing through these whistles makes a high-pitched sound that's annoying to deer and can send them running far away--not in front of you. These deer whistles won't prevent collisions in all situations but can go a long way toward reducing the risk of an accident in deer-heavy areas.

Train employees in deer avoidance strategies

While there are steps you can take to help deer avoid your fleet vehicles, equally important is helping your employees avoid deer. You may want to require all your fleet drivers to sit through a short educational course on deer avoidance, as well as establishing and enforcing rules against distracted driving, as many deer-related collisions can happen while the driver is momentarily looking down at the radio or reading a text. Many instinctive actions a driver could take upon seeing a deer (like swerving) are actually more dangerous than staying the course, so being specifically trained in the safest ways to strike deer can prevent on-the-job injuries that further increase your company costs.

Minimize driving at dusk and dawn

At night, it can actually be easier for drivers to see deer--their large eyes are highly reflective. However, dusk and dawn tend to be the most dangerous times. During these times, deer are active, and the soft, dim sunlight at these times of day may make it hard for drivers to see deer until it's too late to avoid a crash. To the extent you're able to rearrange fleet use to occur during midday or after dark, this rescheduling may help your team avoid deer crashes.

Contact a commercial fleet repair service for more information and assistance.