Deer-season heads-up for dawn and dusk drives between jobs

October through December, your bot checks sunrise and sunset against your first and last drives and sends a short deer heads-up on the days they overlap.

What it does

Deer season and deer-crash season are the same season. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that in the Highway Loss Data Institute's 2013-2022 claims data, animal-strike insurance claims in November ran more than twice the yearly average, a peak that lines up with deer mating season. August had the fewest, and November claims also cost more on average ($4,600, compared with $3,522 in February). Indiana's Department of Natural Resources says deer-vehicle collisions are most likely at dawn and dusk, from September through December and especially in October and November, where roads run between farm fields and woods, and in fog, rain or ice. University of Illinois Extension adds that most happen between dusk and dawn in October, November and December. Indiana DNR and Illinois Extension give similar advice: slow down at those hours, scan the roadsides for eyeshine, use your high beams when it's safe, and if you see one deer, expect more. If a deer is in the road, slow down and stop if you can, but don't swerve; Indiana DNR says braking and hitting the deer is safer than swerving off the road or into oncoming traffic, and Illinois Extension warns against slamming on the brakes or swerving because you can lose control. Use your horn, tap your brakes or flashers to warn drivers behind you, and don't count on deer whistles. If you do hit one, move to a safe spot, turn on your hazards, call the police and don't go near the deer. In most of the U.S., clocks fall back on Sunday, November 1, 2026, and that moves a lot of drives home into dusk overnight. For techs, crews, delivery drivers and anyone with a long commute, your bot checks the day's sunrise and sunset against when you'll be driving and sends a three-line heads-up only on the days they overlap.

Copy-paste prompt

Be my deer-season driving heads-up from October 1 through December 31, using IIHS deer-strike claim data, Indiana DNR's "Deer-Vehicle Collisions and You" and University of Illinois Extension's fall deer tips as background.

My usual drives: leave home about [6:15 AM], last job ends about [5:00 PM], about [40] minutes each way. Rural roads or roads past fields and woods: [yes / some / no]. I drive [my own car / a company truck or van].

1. Each workday at [5:30 AM], look up today's sunrise and sunset for [town or ZIP]. If my morning drive or my drive home falls within about 30 minutes of either one, send a heads-up of 3 lines or less. If neither overlaps, send nothing.
2. Rotate short reminders: slow down at dawn and dusk; watch field edges and wooded stretches; scan for eyeshine; high beams when no one's coming; one deer means more are nearby; slow to a stop if one's in the road, and don't swerve; tap the brakes or flashers to warn drivers behind me.
3. Add a weather line if there's fog, rain or ice on my route, since deer are harder to see then.
4. On Saturday, October 31, remind me the clocks fall back the next day (Sunday, November 1, 2026), so my drive home will be closer to sunset.
5. If I text "hit a deer," reply with only the steps: pull to a safe spot, hazards on, call the police, and don't walk up to the deer (an injured deer can be dangerous). If it's a company vehicle, remind me to follow my employer's accident-report steps. Rules about keeping a deer differ by state, so tell me to ask the officer instead of guessing.

Keep it calm and short. Never text me while I'm likely driving. Send everything before I leave or after I've stopped.