AUGUSTA – Maine State Police issued an advisory Thursday for motorists after four moose-vehicle collisions in one night on one stretch of highway.

All four moose crashes happened Wednesday night on the Maine Turnpike in Biddeford, Saco, Cumberland and Falmouth. No one was injured. Two of the crashes involved tractor-trailer trucks, the other two involved passenger vehicles, police said.

May and June are the most dangerous months for motor vehicle collisions with moose, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles. And night from dusk to dawn is the most dangerous time for moose crashes, police said.

The motorists involved in Wednesday night’s crashes are extremely lucky they weren’t injured or killed, said Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland. “The odds were very much stacked against them. We’ll take that.”

While grand to look at, “Moose are the most dangerous animal in Maine” and cause the most deaths and injuries, McCausland said. “Absent of death, injuries from moose crashes can be horrific.”

It was unusual to have four moose crashes in one night on the same stretch of road, McCausland said, urging people not to assume because they live in urban areas they don’t have to think about hitting a moose.

“Most Mainers assume that moose are only in rural areas, on Route 201 north of Jackman. But moose are everywhere,” McCausland said. “The crashes overnight illustrate that they are where some people least expect them, south of Falmouth.”

Last week in Lewiston, police chased a moose through downtown and across Main Street before diving it into a wooded area behind the L.L. Bean calling center. That juvenile moose and another larger one had been roaming throughout the city in recent weeks.

While the number of most types of crashes in Maine are dropping, crashes with moose and deer are on the rise. In 2002 alone there were more than 4,500 collisions with moose and deer, causing three deaths and more than $31 million in economic losses. Last year, four people were killed on Maine roads in moose collisions, including two on motorcycles. A motorcyclist was killed in April when he struck a moose in Parsonsfield.

When driving at night this time of year when moose are most active and out wandering, police said drivers must take precautions. “Slow down. Put your high beams on. Be especially vigilant and on the lookout,” McCausland said. He also advised motorists to dim their interior lights “so your eyes concentrate more on the road.”

If a collision becomes unavoidable, police advise motorists to swerve their vehicles at the last second to avoid a direct hit. That way, the body of the animal can be diverted away.

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