Deer collisions most likely in West Virgina, least likely in Hawaii

Deer in your headlights? If you’re driving in West Virginia, it’s not so unlikely, unfortunately. According to just-released results of an annual study by State Farm, your chances of colliding with an unsuspecting deer on the road are highest in that state, with estimated odds of a specific vehicle hitting a deer over the next year being 1 in 45.

Other places where you road-trippers will want to keep your eyes peeled include, in order of highest to lowest probability of colliding with a deer: Michigan (a 1 in 78 chance), Pennsylvania, Iowa, Arkansas, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Montana, North Dakota and Virginia (a 1 in 123 chance). In California, the odds are 1 in 1,343.

Finding this prospect a bit, er, staggering? Then go forth to Hawaii, where the odds of striking deer on the road are the lowest of the 50 states: 1 in 10,962.

According to State Farm, the total number of vehicle collisions with deer in the United States is up nearly 15% from five years ago. The insurance company cites an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety statistic that there are about 1.5 million vehicle-to-deer collisions every year in the U.S. Not good for cars and their drivers; certainly not good for Bambi and his kind.

State Farm suggests the following tips to avoid hitting deer:

· “Be aware of posted deer crossing signs. These are placed in active deer crossing areas.
· Remember that deer are most active between 6 and 9 p.m.
· Use high beam headlamps as much as possible at night to illuminate the areas from which deer will enter roadways.
· Keep in mind that deer generally travel in herds — if you see one, there is a strong possibility others are nearby.
· Do not rely on car-mounted deer whistles. They don’t work.
· If a deer collision seems inevitable, attempting to swerve out of the way could cause you to lose control of your vehicle or place you in the path of an oncoming vehicle.”

– Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: Glacier National Park, Montana; Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Saturday, October 11, 2008 at 10:08 am by Susan Derby and is filed under California, East Coast, Hawaii, Midwestern States, News, Tips & Advice, Rocky Mountain States, Southern States. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.