November Highest Month for Car-Deer Collisions
By: Scott Picken
Updated: October 23, 2012
ROCKFORD - November is the worst month for car-deer collisions according to State Farm Insurance. 18% or car-deer crashes happen in November, followed by October and December, and while drivers in Illinois are at a moderate risk for hitting a deer, cross over into Wisconsin or Iowa, and you'll be in a high-risk state.
West Virginia tops the list of states where an individual driver is most likely to run into a deer. Illinois remains middle of the pack ranking 26th. Using its claims data and state licensed driver counts from the Federal Highway Administration, State Farm, calculates the chances of an Illinois motorist striking a deer at 1 in 250 compared with 1 in 190 the year before. Wisconsin is 1 in 97 while Iowa is 1 in 77,
The number of deer-related collisions in the U.S. has increased by 7.7% over the last year after three years of steady declines. State Farm estimates 1.23 million collisions caused by the presence of deer occurred in the U.S. between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012.
"We have known for quite a while that the frequency of auto insurance claims has been declining," said Chris Mullen, Director, Technology Research in a news release. "But whatever is causing that trend is obviously not impacting deer-related crashes." The average property damage cost of car-deer crashes during the final half of 2011 and the first half of 2012 was $3,305, up 4.4 percent from the year before.
To see a map showing the odds of hitting a deer in any state, click on the link below.
