Why would a herd of deer cross a major highway during rush hour?

Well, herds of deer tend not to wear wristwatches, os they may not have known it was rush hour.

Herds are herds – and deer are not particularly smart animals. They have a leader, and the others just follow. My guess is that the leader of the herd thought that there was food (or water, or shelter) on the other side of the highway and he was going to lead his crowd there. And the followers blindly followed.

Deer don’t have high level analytical and thinking skills. (what’s a car? Maybe this isn’t such a great idea!). They go by instinct for food and water.

Remember that in a deer’s world, a large object is a tree or rock – neither of them move. Cars don’t fit their world view.

If this were in “Social” I’d say, “to get to the other side.”

Maybe it is because that is where the Deer-Crossing Sign is

Seriously, I-95 often goes through wooded areas that are attractive to deer.

They are following an ancient migration path and the highway is cutting through it.

Here the same here with Elk, and Mountain Sheep.

They have been following this path that was carved in their memories since birth.

Just because people have built Towns and homes blocking this path does not stop them.

It is not uncommon for a herd to come down from the mountain tops between 5 AM – 7 AM

through one side of the Town ,cross a major highway into the lowlands on the other side and

by 3 PM – 4 PM they return on the path on the opposite side of Town through school

grounds, local streets , neighbors yards etc

It is instinct that is ingrained in there migration patterns.

We in this National Park system are well aware of this pattern and have signs posted and

pamphlets given out to visitors about the need to slow down on areas that these wild

animals are known to cross paths with the human population.

The deer may see your car or truck as only another animal, one they have to circumvent to get to where they need to go. So, basically, what @zenvelo said is true: “To get to the other side.”

I wonder if the problem is that the deer do not consider cars as other animals. My guess is that the deer would avoid crossing the path of a herd of other large herbivores. They would certainly avoid a pack of wolves and maybe even a mother bear with her cubs.

Maybe. But years ago I was driving my father’s 1960 Cadillac down a dirt road in Nevada. I was doing about 40 MPH when I saw a large mule deer stag racing along next to my right fender. I slammed on the brakes just as he cut in front of the car and T-boned the barbed wire fence off to my left.
In Wyoming, antelope will run a good distance just to get in front of a mobile vehicle.

I think there are just plain too many deer and that they grow collectively ever more adapted to and even dependent on the people encroaching on their previous domains. Of course from the deer’s perspective that view of which species overpopulates the world is open to dispute.

@kritiper Yes we noticed that Elk and Deer seem to try to out run the vehicles .
Park Warden suggested if driving early hours and late evenings when its still dark out and wildlife near turn you headlights off and slow down to let the animal cross in front of go off to the side and away.
This happened to me and I tried it and the deer turned away off the roadway.Once it did that I turn my headlights back on.
It seems as if the animals do not have perception and mistook the beam of light to be the length of the object…somewhat as seen in cats that think that colored tape in a square on the floor is a box and that is why they lay in it.

The deer aren’t crossing the highway. The highway is crossing their home. Other answers state this in other ways.

O! It’s the classic question. The classic answer: to get to the other side! @zenvelo got it and deserves credit. Screw general and social. The truth is the truth.

Deer are frustrating animals on the highways, I have killed around 8 in the last 10 years.
3 I think were being chased by other animals they run right out in front of me.
Others were on the road when I came upon them, and sorry if this sounds heartless but I don’t swerve an 83foot 2 trailer transport for anything.

Not even people?

Not even people, I came around a corner one night and had this idiot walking down the centre of the road right at me, I stood on the brakes both trailers were starting to zig-zag this idiots ball cap disappeared right at my hood when he dived out of the way, I think he was drunk.

If I swerve a truck my size at highway speeds it’s going to end in disaster for me, I will do everything in my power to avoid an accident but leave the highway ,or swerve at highway speeds,and most if not all truckers are that way,if in the end my only choice is to kill myself or drive through you, guess what my choice will be, and I would like the entire driving public to know that.
Next time some one cuts us off, pulls out in front of us,think about it.

In my experience deer have no concept of safety when dealing with cars. On my one lane driveway I would slow to a stop when dear were near. They would look at my car, and wait, and then finally I would start to move, because they weren’t moving, and they’d dart in front of my car. Not too bright.

I came around a corner real early one morning and this small Doe was walking across the highway she was in the other lane, I figured no problem just kept my foot in it was going to pass behind her LOTS of room, last second she turned and jumped dead in front of me hit her doing 65mph,luckily she only broke a driving light.

^^Yup.

Because they wanted to get to the other side at that moment so they did.

Why? Because that’s what deer do.

What do you want them to do, move the “deer crossing” signs to a safer place?

Deer would fear autos if they could associate pain with said autos. But there is only pain when they are severely or fatally injured by those autos, and then it’s too late.

So if trucks and buses evolved side by side with the deer, the poor stupid animals would not hurl themselves in front of speeding Peterbilts? I wonder if that’s why you don’t read about deer stampeding through wolf packs.

One thing I have learned about the animal is that unless they are being chased, to a deer it was always safer where they came from, so if spooked they 99% of the time will dart back in the direction where they were coming from, to bad most times it means right in front of an on coming transport truck.