Police have issued a warning to drivers after an officer captured mind-blowing footage of Mother Nature at its best.
An officer was cruising down a highway at night when a small herd of deer legged it across the road.
At one moment in the clip, it looked as though one of the animals was about to slam into the side of a car further up the highway, but instead, the deer catapulted itself into the air. Watch the footage below:
The animal cleared the car with ease and re-joined the group as the officer slowed his vehicle to let other deer pass.
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Sharing the footage on Twitter this week, Michigan State Police issued a reminder to locals that with autumn settling in, deer sightings on the state’s roads would become more frequent.
Michigan Police wrote: “Fall has arrived, with that comes the infamous increase of deer crossings.
“Watch here as Tpr. Anderson encounters a small herd & uses quick braking to avoid contact. Reminder: If deer cross your path - apply controlled braking; steer straight; don’t swerve.”
In a second tweet, the department reminded people not to ‘veer for deer’ and shared some statistics about deaths relating to similar incidents.
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“Don’t Veer for Deer: This is always a tough one for drivers. No one wants to hit a deer,” wrote police.
“But if you try to avoid the deer the chance of crashing into another vehicle or losing control increases. In Michigan, there were 52,218 car deer crashes. 10 of those were fatal.”
People were impressed by the deer’s leap, with one person writing beneath the footage: “That was a mighty impressive leap by the Deer jumping the car, the other Deer crossing the road was probably thinking 'Geez what a showoff'.”
Another added: “We not gonna talk about how that deer just hurdled the car?”
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Michigan’s government website has an entire section dedicated to deer-vehicle crashes and notes: “While the state's two million deer are most active in spring and fall, vehicle-deer crashes are a year-round problem. Each year, there are nearly 50,000 reported vehicle-deer crashes in Michigan.
“About 80 percent of these crashes occur on two-lane roads between dusk and dawn.
“The most serious crashes occur when motorists swerve to avoid a deer and hit another vehicle or a fixed object, or when their vehicle rolls over.”
The website lists bearing in mind the fact that deer often travel in groups and being extra alert at dusk and dawn as tips for avoiding accidents.
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Aisha Nozari