COLUMBUS, Ohio – We’re entering the prime season for deer-vehicle collisions, but an insurance industry group says Ohio’s roadways are getting slightly safer for the deer.
The number of deer-vehicle crashes in Ohio in 2012 was down 7.5 percent from the number reported in 2011, though in central Ohio the number of crashes (1,670) was virtually unchanged from the year before (1,682), according to the Ohio Insurance Institute.
Deer-involved crashed increased in Delaware (6.5%), Franklin (4.6%) and Madison (8.8%) countries while they declined in Fairfield (-4.1%, Licking (-2.7%), Pickaway (-10.8%) and Union (-11.4%), according to the OII.
The OII, the state Departments of Natural Resources and Public Safety and the State Highway Patrol (say there is an increase in risk of hitting a deer between October and the end of January because that is the peak of deer mating season when they are more likely to dart onto roadways.
There were six fatalities in deer-vehicle crashes last year, compared to seven in 2011 and four in 2010.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) estimates about 200 fatalities are caused by deer-vehicle collisions each year in the US.