DEER CROSSINGS
More Americans than you think run into our deer friends every day
By Nate Lee
Admit it. The only time you ever paid attention to those stately road signs showing a bounding deer and warning “DEER XING” was for a few seconds to see if you could spot one in nearby woods.
Maybe you’ll change your mind after the next paragraph. No No Don’t look down. Take a guess at how many accidents deer cause every year in this country. A couple thousand, right? Or, if you’re betting high, you’ll guess maybe 100,000.
How about 1.5 million? That’s how many vehicles State Farm Insurance estimates the total is every year. (There must be a whole lot more deer out there than we think). Though the deer death toll is quite a bit higher, thankfully that only adds up to 150 human deaths.
America’s body shops, meanwhile, get their share of $1.1 billion in vehicle damage.
So, now maybe you’ll take it down a notch when you see the signs. Also, State Farm recommends you use your high-beams as much as possible. And don’t waste your time with those “deer whistles.” They don’t work. Also, if it’s unavoidable, don’t swerve and risk losing control.
Unfortunately, too, mating season happens during October and December. The deer are more likely to be on the side of the road then, probably hitchhiking to Ma’s Roadside Dance Hall for the Friday night mixer. That’s also about the time roads start getting more treacherous with rain and ice to slow down reaction times.
The state with the most accidents is Pennsylvania, then Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Georgia. Coming in sixth through tenth are Minnesota, Virginia, Indiana, Texas and Wisconsin.
State Farm only measures the actual number of accidents, though. They don’t compute for number of miles driven in each state. So, if you figure by the relative populations of the states, number five Georgia and number six Minnesota are the worst. Virginia has reported that close to a quarter of its accidents involve deer. And that means it’s probably a certainty that you’ll run into a deer in Wisconsin.
