Our View: It’s that time of the year — watch for deer

Talk about it

Every year in the U.S. approximately 1.5 million car-deer collisions kill about 150 people and cause about $1 billion in vehicle damage. Drivers beware — we are entering the time of the year when deer-vehicle crashes are most common.

In 2010, Wisconsin drivers reported 16,947 motor vehicle-deer collisions with 14 fatalities and numerous injuries. Approximately 70 percent of the fatalities involve deer-motorcycle crashes.

During the same time period, the Department of Natural Resources removed 26,595 deer carcasses from Wisconsin’s roadway system, indicating that only about half of all deer encounters with motor vehicles are reported.

October and November are typically peak months for deer crashes. The incidents are most likely to occur between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. and between 5 p.m. and midnight.

“The number of persons injured or killed in deer crashes in our state has increased since the late 1970s and drivers need to be especially alert now when deer are active and searching for mates,” said Ron Von Haden, CIC, Executive Vice President of the Professional Insurance Agents of Wisconsin (PIAW). “In most cases it’s best not to veer out of your lane to avoid hitting a deer. Often hitting a deer does less damage to your car than might be caused by swerving into a lane of oncoming traffic or leaving the road and ending up in a ditch.”

Here are a few tips for drivers traveling the highways of Western Wisconsin this fall.