JONES COUNTY, Ga. — When the Jones County Sheriff's Office is out on patrol, they keep a watchful eye out for danger.
Now, they're hanging on for 'deer' life after a captain told us they've never had more deer and patrol car collisions than in the past month. They say deer are an unexpected enemy.
“Deer are attacking us in droves,” Jones Patrol Cpt. Travis Douglas said.
He says deer and car collisions are common in Central Georgia.
“The hunters get out and stir them all up, we start to see a lot more deer on the side of the roads,” Douglas explained.
However, in the last month, they've seen a spike.
“A little over 52 accidents this month and eight of those being my patrol cars,” he said.
Douglas says deer hit one patrol car twice on back-to-back days.
He says there's nothing that can prevent it.
“We're literally working three deer accidents a day. Majority of the time, it's just the last second– a deer running out in front of them,” Douglas said.
Nick Kimble of Stan's Body Shop says the deer keep them busy too.
“In the past two months, I would say from 30%, to 80%, to 90% are all deer hits. That's all we have right now,” Kimble explained.
It's also not cheap like the repairs to the patrol car that got hit twice.
"We’ll replace the radiator support, the bumper, and the fender,” Kimble said. “It's probably $6,000 worth of damage or more."
So, Douglas has some tips before you run into a deer.
“Cpl. Sullivan was only running 45 miles an hour, so you can see how short the reaction time is,” Douglas explained. “Especially, driving at night, we just ask that you drive a little slower. The faster you go, the less reaction time you have."
If you can't prevent hitting a deer, there is a surprising piece of advice.
“You're less likely to be injured if you go ahead and hit it. Trying to take evasive actions and swerve, you could run off the road or turn over your car. We’ve seen people flip their cars, run off the road. Just go ahead and hit it,” Douglas said.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources says the state deer population is currently stable, but it can boom in places that have less hunting.
Douglas says there are many hunters in Jones County, but the deer are more active in colder weather.