AUGUSTA – November may be deer hunting season, but it is also the time of year when vehicle collisions with deer are on the rise, officials say.

The combination of early darkness and a deer population looking to mate and avoid hunters results in a spike in the number of collisions, said Col. Craig Poulin of the Maine State Police.

“You have deer hunting [for] themselves, and they’re being hunted,” said Poulin. “You also have more dark hours during your prime driving time.”

Statewide data show that from 1999 to 2001, two motorists were killed and 519 injured in more than 12,000 automobile-deer accidents in Maine. The accidents caused more than $47 million in damage, according to the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife.