US Deer-Vehicle Collisions Fall (Someone Learned How to Avoid)
Someone has learned their lesson that they probably know now how to avoid each other. It can either be the deer or the driver. What is clear is that for the third consecutive year, the number of deer-vehicle collisions in the U.S. has dropped.
What’s pleasing with this news is that the downturn is accelerating. The percentage decline over the last year is nearly three times as large as during the previous two years combined. Using its claims data, auto insurer State Farm, estimates 1.09 million collisions between deer and vehicles occurred in the US between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011. The figure is 7 percent fewer than one year ago and 9 percent less than three years ago.
Among the states in which at least 2,000 deer-vehicle collisions occur per year, Vermont (24%), Michigan (23%), West Virginia (22%) and Connecticut (22%) experienced the largest one-year percentage declines.
Despite the decrease, this is not a guarantee that there will be no more collisions. In fact, State Farm’s data shows that November which is considered as deer migration and mating season, is the month when we would likely see deer and vehicle encounters. More than 18 percent of such mishaps take place during the month.
A deer-vehicle collision is no laughing matter. It can be fatal. Have you had any experience with a deer-vehicle collision? How did you avoid it?
