Motorists Fail to Buck Trend of Deer-Versus-Driver Crashes

Staten Island borough leaders threw some shade the way of New York officials in September, charging that the city's environmental agencies hadn't done enough to control the spiking deer population. According to a local newspaper report, the number of whitetail deer has nearly doubled in just the past year to an estimated 1,500, and that sanitation crews had removed 70 deer carcasses from the roads this year, a problem only threatening to worsen as mating season revs up this month. The moral of this whitetail tale: If you're in danger of hitting a deer with your car in New York, it's safe to say you're not safe anywhere.

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While your likelihood of being involved in a vehicle-venison collision hasn't gotten worse in the past year — when there were 1.25 million such accidents — it hasn't gotten any better either. That's according to a study by State Farm insurance using claims data and state licensed driver counts from the Federal Highway Administration to calculate the chances of an American motorist striking a deer, elk or moose between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2015, in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The study concluded that a driver's odds of such a collision are 1 in 169, identical to the previous year's figure. The next three months are the most treacherous, as mating-season activity doubles that likelihood.

"Periods of daily high-deer movement around dawn and dusk as well as seasonal behavior patterns, such as during the October-December breeding season, increase the risk for auto-deer collisions," Ron Regan, executive director for the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, said in a statement. "Changes in collision rates from year to year are a reflection of changing deer densities or population levels — more deer in a given area increases the potential for collision."

In 2013, such accidents — mostly involving deer — resulted in 191 human deaths. Beyond the serious bodily danger, these crashes can be costly. The national average cost per car-insurance claim in 2015 is $4,135, up 6 percent from the year before, the study stated.

West Virginia remains the state with the greatest likelihood of a car-versus-deer collision, with an unfavorable 1 in 44 chance; that's despite an 11.4 percent decline in the likelihood compared with 2014. Rounding out the top five are: Montana, with a 1 in 63 chance, a 19.1 percent greater likelihood than last year; Iowa, 1 in 68, 13.2 percent greater; Pennsylvania, 1 in 70, 1.4 percent greater; and South Dakota, 1 in 73, 12.3 percent greater. The state in which a motorist is least likely to run into a deer is Hawaii, occupying the bottom spot for its ninth consecutive year with a 1 in 8,765 chance.

The Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety offers the following tips to help drivers avoid deer danger:

• Drive at safe speeds and always buckle your seat belt.
• Be especially cautious from 6-9 p.m., when deer are most active.
• Use high beams as much as possible at night.
• Don't swerve to avoid a deer, which could cause you to lose control or veer into the oncoming lane.
• Don't count on deer whistles or deer fences to deter the animals from crossing the road.
• Watch for the reflection of deer eyes and their silhouettes on the road's shoulder, and slow down if something looks suspect.
• Slow down in highly deer-populated areas, such as where roads divide farm fields from forests.
• Remember that deer make unpredictable moves, stopping in the middle of the road then crossing and doubling back without warning.
• Honk to urge a deer to leave the roadway, but stop and don't attempt to go around if the deer won't budge.

If you do hit a deer, however, State Farm recommends that you:

• Move your vehicle to a safe place.
• Call the police to ensure no road-kill-related hazards remain and to take a report.
• Document the incident with photos of the road, your surroundings and damage to your vehicle, as well as injuries to yourself or passengers.
• Stay away from the animal, as a wounded deer is a dangerous deer.
• Contact your insurance carrier as soon as possible to begin your claim process.
• Don't assume your vehicle is safe to drive before checking for leaking fluids, loose parts, tire damage, broken lights or other safety hazards; call for a tow truck if you need it.