Editor’s Note: Deer and cars don’t mix

With wild fires in California still raging and causing destruction to property and lives — somehow discussing deer/automobile crashes doesn’t seem critical. But it is critical, especially at this time of the year.

Consider that over 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions occur annually in the United States, causing more than 150 fatalities and $1.1 billion in property damage, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

State Farm recently came out with its annual top ten list of states with the most deer crash incidents. While only one South Central state, Arkansas, had the dubious distinction of being in the top ten, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas are hardly devoid of significant deer populations. In addition to Arkansas, the list includes: West Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota.

2007 statistics

The statistics tell the story: 205,121 deer-related collisions took place between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007, according to a recent study of State Farms’ policyholders’ claims. The data showed the total number of deer-vehicle collisions across the nation increased 6.3 percent in the past year.

The average cost to repair vehicles involved in those incidents was about $2,900, up 3 percent from a year earlier, the insurer’s data indicates. Keep in mind that the deer are often killed in these accidents and many times the automobile is listed as a total loss. These collisions become more frequent during the fall and winter due to the deer migration and mating season from October through December.

Another perspective

To get an idea of the frequency of the crashes, State Farm’s study suggests that motorists in West Virginia have a 1 in 57 chance of hitting a deer. That is nearly three times more likely than one estimate of the possibility that a person will be audited by the Internal Revenue Service in 2008, and 5,000 times more likely than another approximation of the chance that an individual will be struck by lightning between now and a year from now.

So, it’s good to remember that Bambi doesn’t have a clue. It’s up to people to watch out for deer, not the other way around.