Roadkill, danger on the roads?
JACKSON, Tenn- One deer a day is what the Tennessee Department of Transportation estimates it collects in roadkill from highways in West Tennessee. Many drivers have an urge to swerve and avoid hitting animals crossing into the fast lane. “I’m an animal lover, so it’s kind of hard. If you’re on a back country road, and you’re not going too fast, I would try to swerve. To be honest, I would probably just keep going straight,” says one Jackson driver, Rebekah Klepzig. TDOT says make your safety the priority. ” You try to avoid hitting it but don’t risk your own life to miss an animal,” said Scott Taylor with the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Taylor says TDOT has fencing along portions of the Interstate, but animals can still get through the barrier. ” The deer can still jump it and some animals go under it,” said Taylor. TDOT says it monitors all state roads and interstates daily, “We regularly monitor the interstates, pick up roadkill, tires—we call gators on the highway, or anything else that might be an obstruction.” To fin out how you can report roadkill directly to TDOT, visit the “Seen on 7” section.
