Oh, deer! FCSD installs protective bumpers

By Staff
Jason Houston FCT Managing Editor
The Franklin County Sheriff's Department is being forced to take aggressive action against an unlikely enemy - the area's whitetail deer population.
Sheriff Larry Plott said Monday the department is in the process of installing protective steel bumpers on the front of all vehicles. The action comes on the heels of two recent head-on collisions with deer.
Animal control officials estimate the size of Alabama's deer population at a little more than 1.5 million. Hunters will thin the herd a bit during the hunting season, but deer vs. vehicle crashes are becoming more and more common.
According to Alabama Department of Public Safety statistics, 2,568 animal crashes were reported in 2003, with one death and 269 injuries resulting.
Plott said only one vehicle in the department currently has one of the bumpers installed, but all vehicles will as soon as possible. He said the department is paying for the $400 devices with drug seizure money.
The two recent deer collisions have cost the department around $1,500 each in vehicle repair, so Plott said if the bumpers help prevent one collision, they will have paid for themselves three times over.
Plott said the department's deer woes illustrate the need for county motorists to use extreme caution on area roadways, especially around dusk and dawn, key times for deer movement.