Your Likelihood Of Hitting A Deer

[Jim Meade / Iowa City]

What are your chances of hitting a deer in 2012?  West Virginia is worst, followed by South Dakota and Iowa, with MIchigan 4th.   Pennsylvania is 5th.  These are according to this State Farm insurance report.

What are your chances in your state?

Some states have many more deer collisions, but also have many more drivers.  You can see all the statistics here:

http://www.statefarm.com/aboutus/_pressreleases/2012/october/24/likelihood-of-collision-2012.pdf

[Blacksandfarmer]

Jim I killed 5 deer with my previous pickup..... The last one ran into me!!! So far with my newer truck I've been lucky and haven't hit any deer yet..... I've only owned my silverado a couple months and this post will probably jinx me!

[SpringBrookFarm]

I just hit a deer this weekend going home, just tapped it enough to crack the front bumper and knock out the grill, the right head light points more towards the ground on our jeep. I hit one a little harder last spring with our other jeep, was able to drive it home but still almost 4000 dollars in damage and it was all cosmetic. Both of them were within ten miles of home and about two miles from each other. Ive hit 5 or 6 total but none of those caused enough damage to worry bout it.

[Shaggy98]

In Central Kansas, the possibility is pretty good that you will have some kind of deer accident. I don't think it is bad since all the small creeks are dry, but near the Smokey Hill River the deer population has increased dramatically this fall.

[Nebrfarmr]

Hit three deer so far in my life. One with my 1971 Dodge car, one of the kind you jacked up by the bumper, to change the tire. Jumped out in front of me from some bushes, must have hit it going 40. No damage except the tiniest ripple to the hood, where it wound up sitting, dead as a doornail. I miss that car. . . The other, I hit with the old Dodge pickup, the one with the home-made 'bull pusher deluxe' grille guard. I think I hit that one at almost 50. No damage except a bloodstain on the guard. I still have that guard, but the Mrs doesn't want it on the pickup, because its 'big and ugly'. . . Last one I hit, was with my wife's 'new' car, which was 5 or 6 years old at the time, doing maybe 15-20, and did about $1000 damage to. . . Think around here it isn't if you hit a deer, but when. In fact, a deer put my oldest brother in a wheelchair, likely for life.

[Jim Meade / Iowa City]

Here are some tips from the Minnesota state government on best practices if you are going to be in danger of hitting a deer.

"Although deer-vehicle collisions can cause extensive vehicle damage, most serious injuries and fatalities are caused by drivers taking evasive actions," said Kathy Swanson, director of Driver and Vehicle Services with the Department of Public Safety. "Drivers need to avoid swerving into oncoming traffic or leaving the road which can cause them to hit a tree or other object."

"It's safer to hit a deer than to risk hitting another vehicle or a fixed object such as a tree," she said. "Apply your brakes firmly, hold onto the steering wheel and bring your vehicle to a controlled stop."

"Drivers can improve their safety by following these suggestions:

Slow down and prepare to stop as soon as you see a deer. It is much safer to stop than to have to take evasive action.

When you see a deer, watch for additional ones. Deer are herd animals and frequently move in groups.

Deer are nocturnal and travel most at dawn and at dusk. Most deer-vehicle crashes occur between the hours of 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. Deer eyes may reflect in your headlights. Watch for them. For maximum safety, assume that deer will cross your path.
 If you hit a deer, call 9-1-1. Law enforcement officers will assist with injuries and write a report to provide to your insurance company."

http://www.dot.state.mn.us/newsrels/03/10/31deer.html

[Kay/NC]

Not saying anything bad about your brother and his accident, which was certainly a terrible one...but, we had a neighbor kid who "hit a deer" quite a few times.  The fifth or sixth time, the deer even left bright yellow paint - just like on the protective metal posts at the gas pumps  - on the side of the car.  Bad deer!

We couldn't believe that the insurance company kept paying out on this kid's mishaps.  We've heard a lot of "swerved to miss a deer" stories, that stretched our ability to believe them, too. 

I was amzed to see NC ranked so low - 21st I think = and Va so high at tenth.  Our perception is that there are way more deer by the roads here. 

Our county and the next one across the Roanoke River always rank back and forth as first and second in the state for deer harvest numbers.  Of course, when you manage wildlife for that much population, they are so small, the people probably think they've hit a dog instead. 

I wonder if there is any correlation between type of hunting permitted and accident numbers.  I doubt there is that much of an uptick from black powder and bow hunters, who still hunt.  When the dog season starts, and they commence War on Deer, with radio collared packs of hounds driving the prey, and high-powered rifles fired from the beds of pickup trucks, we start to see quite a few hit on road shoulders. 

I can accept the still hunting, but the way they use dogs here drives me nuts. 

[Blacksandfarmer]

Kay, nobody here in Michigan is allowed to hunt deer with dogs but many choose the combines harvesting corn to push the deer to them instead. This time of year gets a little ridiculous with "hunters" driving up and down the roads looking for deer that are on property that isn't even their own. I don't blame them for wanting to view the wildlife but it gets old. A few years back we had a cornfield that was being harvested in late November. It was one of the only cornfields left in the area to be picked. As the combine operator started making his last couple passes to finish up, a group of "hunters" pull up and line the road nearest my home with shotguns waiting for the deer to run out.... I hate being THAT guy but I don't think anybody can fault me for asking them to leave.

I work an off farm job and my hours are 6:00 am to 6:30 pm. I call going to work running the gauntlet.... of deer that is.

[Kay/NC]

We should be so lucky in either state.  The use of dogs in hunting may be a time-honored tradition, but when a couple of Crackers with a radio tracker drive up your lane, and tell you they have  right to trespass to get their dogs, they are only partly right.  Law permits them to gather dogs they can see on foot, with no weapon in hand. 

I've taken photos of one guy shoving his poor dogs onto our land...only to be met by the pack of Blue Heelers we call The Heathen.  Have saved witless hounds from the pair of 100-pound Maremmas, who took exception to them straying too near the flock, too.  I despise how I see the dogs deteriorate in condition, and those who aren't deemed worthy of feedign anymore are turned out and shot.  This is when I count on Karma. 

I am 'that guy", too, only I'm a female, so it turns ugly on occasion, all B word this and that.    They tried for almost ten years to get the best of me, but it's been really quiet here, since I got the goods to prosecute one of them, I guess it was about nine years ago.  It was simple to leverage that to pressure the timber company that leased their clubhouse tract to one bunch of them, to control their invitees. 

Just be glad they had shotguns, and not high-powered rifles.  On this flat ground, it's no telling how far those rounds go, before they strike ground.  There have been school windows broken by bullets, not all that far from here. 

[Nebrfarmr]

My sister, who hit numerous deer, but none lately, said that someone gave her a tip, that if you see 'eyes' in your headlights, to slow down, and dim your lights.  The theory is the deer are blinded by the high beams, and dimming the lights lets them see off to the side better, and they get out of the way.  She puts the brights back on, when the reflections from the eyes disappear.  She claims it helps, as she hasn't hit a deer since doing that.  I don't know if it is dimming the lights, or automatically slowing down, as soon as she sees eyes, but so far it seems to be working for her.