| Greetings!
Fall is a wonderful time of the year. Generally pleasant weather, beautiful foliage, festivals, etc.
It can also be a dangerous time. Those same beautiful leaves fallen and wet onto the roadway can be what my old friend Doug used to say "slicker than owl dung" greasy, Mix the wet leaves with a curve and off the road you may slide.
Then there are those 4 legged creatures that hunters covet and motorists shutter at encountering. Pennsylvania has the third highest deer collision rate in the US. Pike County is among the worst in PA. So look out! If you've been driving long, no doubt you've had one jump out at you. Dusk and dawn are the worse times of the day. Bow hunters disturb the deers' usual patterns earlier than ever. The fall rut drives the deer a little crazy turning these usually careful creatures into rushing lovelorn fools. If you see one, stop! Another is soon to follow.
The primary way to reduce your deer collision potential is to slow down. Do not swerve to avoid a collision. Swerving puts you at risk of going off the road, hitting a tree, rolling over or going down an embankment quicker than a wink. Most cars today have anti-lock brakes. Depress the brake pedal as hard as you can and the car should achieve maximum stoppage for the conditions. If you're a "mature driver", you may never have been properly trained in using anti-lock brakes. Drive somewhere to an unused parking lot and practice a panic stop just to see how it feels different than the old pump your brakes method. Make sure to buckle up first. The average damage for a deer hit is now about $2000 plus the loss of use of your vehicle.
Bruins too are numerous. They are scavenging the woods for nutrition to bulk up for the winter. Acorns are abundant and they will remain active as long as they can find food. An encounter of car and bear often totals a car. Bear season in PA is the Monday thru Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Hunters will dislocate bears and deer.
Your children are at risk during Halloween. Make certain they have reflective outer gear so that motorists can clearly see them. Stay in a group to avoid predators. As a kid, I remember getting a "trick" not a treat from one home. The guy unwrapped Baby Ruth bars and replaced the candy with a short stick. This of course was innocent enough. But we've all heard horror stories of malevolence at the trick or treat bag. Try to go to people you know and trust. Inspect what the kids haul in. We have free bright yellow trick or treat bags available for you at the office.
Since fall officially goes 'til Dec 21st, it is not unusual to see snow. Without fail, the first snow storm contributes to a LOT of collisions year in and year out! It seems we forget how to drive on snow. So here's the reminder.
Enjoy fall and the holidays. | 
