Watch for deer in coming weeks
Avoiding deer
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation offers the following advice for avoiding deer collisions:
-- Be cautious and slow down in the early morning and evening hours when deer are most active.
-- Wear your safety belt.
-- Pay attention to deer crossing signs.
-- If you see a deer, slow down and blow your horn to scare it away.
-- When you see one deer, look for another.
-- Don't expect a deer in your headlights to move.
-- Brake firmly when you see a deer in your path.
-- Don't swerve away from a deer and risk hitting another car or object.
-- If you're riding a motorcycle, swerve if necessary.
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JANESVILLE — Drivers beware: It's deer crash season.
About 15,800 motorists smacked deer in Wisconsin in 2008, according to law enforcement reports, and the majority of crashes occurred in October and November.
Deer are the third-most commonly struck object in Wisconsin traffic crashes, behind collisions with other vehicles and fixed objects, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
Motorcycles in 2008 were involved in seven of the 10 fatal crashes with deer in Wisconsin, according to the transportation department. Many others result in injury.
"It tends to be a pretty horrific type of injury if a deer is coming through the windshield," said Dennis Hughes, chief of safety programs for Wisconsin State Patrol. "People are getting killed and injured in these things, and it certainly will ruin your day."
Most deer-vehicle crashes occur in October and November when rutting bucks are chasing does, and they often happen at dusk and dawn, Hughes said.
Deer are active at dusk and dawn because they move to bedding and feeding areas, he said.
Dusk and dawn also happens to be the time when many drivers are commuting between home and work, increasing the likelihood of collisions, Hughes said.
"Deer are born with a perfect camouflage," he said. "They blend in with their surroundings. They're hard to see."
The number of deer-vehicle collisions is actually underreported, Hughes said, because many law enforcement agencies don't respond to the wrecks.
The Rock County Sheriff's Office, for example, won't respond to the collisions unless the road is blocked or a person is injured, Capt. Jude Maurer said.
Instead, drivers should fill out a self-report form, Maurer said, and they can use the report to file an insurance claim.
State Farm Insurance Co. reported 2.4 million collisions between deer and vehicles nationwide between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2009, after analyzing its claims data. That was an 18.3 percent increase from five years earlier.
Wisconsin ranked eighth for the chance of vehicles striking deer, according to State Farm. West Virginia was No. 1.
American Family Insurance reported Wisconsin policyholders submitted $22.3 million in claims for animal-vehicle collisions in 2008. It was the highest amount among 19 states where the company offers insurance.
The average cost per claim was $2,464, according to American Family.
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