Dec 31, 2004

Oh, Deer! Duck and Cover!

As the year comes to a close, we at Driving Today decided that a re-cap of the year's best Driving News stories would not only present an enjoyable end-of-2004 recap but also provide us with a clever way of kicking back during the Christmas holidays.  Happy Merry to all, and we hope you enjoy this week's summary as much as we enjoy bring it to you.

You might not be aware of it but this is prime time for collisions between automobiles and deer.  Though the deer usually get the worst of it, it's no picnic for us drivers either. Each year there are more than 1.5 million crashes in the United States involving deer, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. They cost an estimated $1.1 billion in vehicle damages, 150 lives are lost, and more than 10,000 injuries result, and that doesn't count the deer.

Drivers should be alert for deer when driving anytime during the fall, but drivers should be extra cautious during the last week of October through mid-November, when mating season is in full swing. Deer are more active, resulting in a significant number of deer-vehicle crashes. Apparently horny deer, intent on mating, enter roadways with no regard to their personal (deersonal?) safety during this time of year. 

Erie Insurance, based in Erie, Pennsylvania, is in the midst of a deer hotbed, and its statistics show it.  Deer claims for 2003 accounted for nearly 40 percent of all comprehensive losses. Paid losses from deer claims totaled $60 million, up 12 percent from 2002, though the actual number of deer claims per thousand held steady. The average cost of a deer claim was $2,040.

The highest deer claim frequencies occurred along the New York/Pennsylvania border, the Catskills region of New York, and in central West Virginia, but the study saw an increase in other states. From 1999-2003, the frequency of deer claims for Erie Insurance has increased 40 percent in Indiana and 25 percent in Ohio.  In 2003, the insurer recorded 20 percent of its deer claims during the three-week period from late October through mid-November.

The peak times for deer-vehicle crashes are during dusk and dawn when deer are most prone to romance. About half of all deer claims occur between the hours of 5 p.m. and midnight. Another 20 percent of claims occur between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m.  The insurance company cannot substantiate what percentage of the deer had been drinking prior to their accidents.