It's that time of year again to be extra careful on the road.

Ryan Lemont, manager of driver education with the Alberta Motor Association (AMA), says October to January presents the highest risk for wildlife collisions.

With it being the rutting season for deer, he says November is the peak month for these types of accidents.

"I mentioned deer because 80 per cent of wildlife collisions do involve deer, and the highest risk time period for these collisions is between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. So they do account for about half of the collisions on rural highways."

He says it's also best to drive in the daylight whenever possible to lower the risk of an incident.

"A lot of that animal migration, it happens most often in the early morning or twilight hours."

It's also good to keep your headlights clean so you can see as best as possible and also be easily seen.

There's some advice to keep in mind in case you do come across wildlife while driving.

"If you can, the best approach would be to slow down, turn your hazards on. If you're able to, stop and let the animals safely cross."

In the case where a collision is unavoidable, it is recommended to target the hindquarters of the animal if possible to minimize the overall contact.

"If you can't stop safely, the best thing to do is stay in your lane. You don't want to be giving any abrupt maneuvers where you might fly into the ditch or even into oncoming traffic, so you want to try to maintain control and slow down."

He says it's important to always be vigilant and alert, keeping your eye out for groups of animals whenever you see one.

It's also wise to watch for the glare of their eyes.

His best advice for avoiding these types of collisions is to simply slow down.

"The faster you’re going, the more distance you're going to cover and the more distance you'll need to stop. And really, the severity of the collision, it does spike exponentially as speed increases, making the potential for serious injury or damage more significant. So again, slow down, keep your vehicle under control, giving yourself lots of time to react if you do come across any animals."

Information provided by OkotoksOnline