An increase in crashes involving deer is being seen by authorities in northeast Kansas.

Brown County Sheriff John Merchant said Tuesday that in the past few weeks deer non-injury accidents have increased in the county.  He said in most cases the accidents were unavoidable.

“Over the weekend we had like four or five,” Merchant said. “I know with people in the field, the farmers out combining and doing work I know that the deer tend to get up and travel more and with the rut I know there’s a lot of factors that contribute to the activity of the deer.”

He said the best advice is to drive at a reasonable speed for road conditions and not to try to avoid hitting the deer.

“The major issues are when people leave the roadway.  That’s when a majority of the bad injuries and more damage to the vehicle.  Also, there are times when people are driving too fast,” Merchant said. “You just have to drive with caution and make sure that you’re aware of everything.”