Pa. leads herd in number of deer-vehicle crashes
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Drivers are navigating into the peak season for deer-vehicle crashes, a category in which Pennsylvania leads the nation.
A study by State Farm put the state’s total at about 120,000 for the 12 months that ended in June 2012.
The study says the average claim was about $3,400, which means the antlered ruminants do hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.
State Farm says Michigan has the second-most such crashes, at 87,000.
Drivers in West Virginia are most likely to hit a deer, a 1 in 38 chance. The odds in Pennsylvania are 1 in 73. The peak season runs from now into mid-December.
Drivers are advised to slow down, use high beams when possible and be careful around dawn and dusk.