Fewer Deer in D.C. Area Headlights

It’s that time of year when deer really start to come out of the woodwork. That often means bad things for our cars.

But a new study out this morning from State Farm Insurance shows that the number of accidents involving deer is on the decline.

The auto insurer estimates that about 1.009 million collisions happened between deer and vehicles between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011. That’s down seven percent from last year, and down nine percent from three years ago.

But despite the national decline, our area still sees some of the highest rates of deer-vehicle collisions. West Virginia ranked first in the nation for the state with the highest likelihood of getting into a collision with a deer. If you drive in the state, you have a 1-in-53 chance of hitting a deer.

Virginia ranked 12th on the list and Maryland 13th.  Urban D.C. is down at the bottom of the list at number 46. It may not be much of a surprise, but Hawaii is the place you are least likely to come face-to-face with a deer, with only a 1-in-6,267 chance of hitting one.

State Farm points out that the reason why deer encounters are so high in the fall is because that's the height of the deer migration and mating season. More than 18 percent of all deer-vehicle collisions happen during the month of November, followed closely by October and December.