Looking for another reason to live in Hawaii? Here it is:
For the eighth consecutive year, the state that many consider paradise is where drivers are least likely to collide with a deer. The odds? One in 10,281.
Illinois drivers are less fortunate. Their odds are 1 in 211, a slight increase from last year, but better than the national average of 1 in 169.
The numbers, crunched by State Farm, use claims data and state licensed driver counts from the Federal Highway Administration.
Illinois drivers can take solace. At least they’re not in West Virginia, which leads the U.S. in the likelihood of deer-motor vehicle collisions with odds of 1 in 39. Illinois ranks 31st in the nation for deer collisions, State Farm reports.
Tom Micetich, Illinois Department of Natural Resources deer project manager, shared the encouraging news that the number of collisions is much lower than the peak year of 2004, when the Illinois Department of Transportation recorded 25,847 motor vehicle-deer accidents.
In 2013, that number was 15,328, Micetich said.
Extending the late-winter deer hunting season and issuing more permits for “antler-less” deer — read does and fawns — are key factors in lowering the deer population, Micetich said.
State Farm also reports that drivers are most likely to collide with a deer in October, November and June, and that the national cost per claim average is $3,888, up nearly 14 percent from last year, when the average was $3,414.
A total of 175 deaths in 2012 were the result of drivers’ collisions with animals, with deer being the animal struck most often, State Farm stated.
To avoid becoming a statistic, the company recommends, among other actions, that drivers use high beams at night when no oncoming traffic is present and slow down — not swerve — when spotting a deer. Also remember that deer typically travel in groups.
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