Deer Strikes by State

[sapest]

Found this chart in a recent article in Car & Driver.

Data compiled from auto accident insurance claims.

And I thought the deer were bad in WA.

-Steve

 

[Pterodactyl]

Montana has consistently been #2 in the odds measure. Maybe they dont count elk, moose, antelope and buffalo strikes.

 

[Bugnatr]

The worst state is the one you are in if you hit one. For me it's Washington and California.

 

[RossKean]

The statistics are skewed by regions of higher population density in some states. For instance, California with its huge proportion of its population in urban areas has the most favorable statistics. I would expect if you were to consider the regions away from the cities, it would rank much higher in terms of probability. I would expect that New York would fare MUCH worse if you excluded the city and surrounding highly populous area. (The odds of hitting a deer in downtown Los Angeles or Manhattan are probably pretty low.)

 

[El Toro Joe]

My wife and daughter have both had encounters with deer...better them than me.

 

[SLK50]

Woo Hoo! Im #1. Bummer

The odds are misleading until adjusted for population density.

While the odds are greater in WV, there are 5X as many

deer killed in PA. This is exacerbated by no-kill zones

around high population areas.

 

[timk]

I worked in West Va for 34 yrs and came away unscathed, not so for a buddy of mine. He hit 3 in 1 week. 2 were his 1 his wifes. He was no longer allowed to borrow wifeys car.

 

[BkerChuck]

PA resident here, hit one on my Buell back in 2002. Close calls more than I can count. My ex hit 3 with her last car. My aunt hit one years back. I've had the damn things walk through my back yard and I live in a housing development! I see at least 2-3 dead ones laying on road shoulders every week.

 

[Uncle Hud]

They have deer in DC?

 

[drc32-0]

West Virginia being number one is a little surprising to me.They don't seem to be as skittish as Ohio deer.In my experience they'll just stand there whereas an Ohio deer will bolt out in front of you in a heart beat.I've never hit one on a bike but I've had plenty of close calls.I had one run into the side of my car once and I just ran over one in my truck about two months ago...didn't hurt the truck at all.My neighbor feeds them three times a day so I've had as many as 11 in my back yard in the evening,usually 3-6 every night.

 

[extrememarine]

I've managed to avoid any impacts here in Michigan in recent years, but have had many close calls, both in the car/truck and on the bike. The deer herd in lower Michigan is still over populated.

I was in VA when I hit and ran over the deer in 2016 on the FJR. I've hit deer before, in a truck. Hitting one on the bike is an entirely different experience...

 

[RossKean]

Nevermind... (Comment retracted)

 

[scubatech]

That's a pretty interesting map of Deer strikes. Those insurance companies have things figured out!

 

[Bugnatr]

To any one who hasn't hit one. It isn't skill, you have been lucky ....so far.

It hurts.

 

[Pterodactyl]

Damn right Bug. I never saw the deer that hit me. Spousal Unit was a few hundred yards behind me and said the critter came out of the brush in th air and landed a few feet before hitting me on the left side. I ride in a deer, elk, antelope, cow and buffalo infested region. I try my best to be prepared for one of them, but sometimes you are going to be surprised by an animal that is well inside your reaction zone. Now the fact that I did not go down is completely due to my cat like reactions and total control of my machine at all times.... or my sloth like reactions meant that I didnt do the wrong thing and f things up.

 

[philter]

Interesting fact, to me at least. I was watching a series on South Carolina on TV and they said that at one time, early in the states history, the PRIMARY export was deer hides, that went to Europe. Also interesting, later on, primary export was RICE and a LOT of it went to China. LOL

 

[BanjoBoy]

To any one who hasn't hit one. It isn't skill, you have been lucky ....so far.


It hurts.

Wasn't it Darrel Waltrip who first coined the phrase; "it's better to be lucky, than to be good?"

I'll never forget riding along up the coast, in a line of cars, 'n see'in a deer run down a steep ass hill, right into the side of a truck. It was like a suicide mission! No way to avoid that ****. Maybe the deer had gotten into someones marijuana patch prior?

I've had many close calls, 'butt ain't hit one yet; knocking on wood.

 

[Pterodactyl]

A friend from Alaska rode his bike down to Montana. He was stopped at a traffic light on Reserve Avenue in Missoula. Reserve is one of the busiest streets in one of Montana's largest cities. While sitting there waiting for the light to change he was hit by a deer that tried to jump over him. Bike (BMW F650GS) was totaled and he had some broken ribs. A true "deer strike".

 

[art miller]

Once while riding on an empty state road in New Mexico I stopped at a gas station and the old fella attending the place warned me to "be careful fella them antelope will jump right out and hit you broadside". That sure made me a prolific scanner for them four leges.

I have one of those "snake oil" deer whistles on my bike and have had a number of instances where deer have run out on the road ahead of me and then turned tail and ran back into the brush. Can't claim the whistle worked but I am not going to remove it.