State deer collision rates increase

The 13th annual deer collision statistics were released Monday for 2015, showing that a driver in Washington state has slightly worse odds of hitting a deer than at this same time last year.

According to the release, Washington drivers are nearly 10 percent more likely to collide with a deer than last year. The data was collected by State Farm on a nationwide level. According to this data, the odds that a driver in Washington will hit a deer are 1 out of 337, while the national odds are 1 out of 169. The data was collected between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015.

Last year's data gave Washington drivers a 1 in 372 chance of colliding with a deer, ranking the state 41st in the country.

The slight increase this year ranks Washington as 42nd in the country for the most deer collisions. The report also detailed the most likely times when drivers might encounter deer, which were October, November and August in the state, attributed to hunting and mating seasons.

Jamie Knudson of State Farm in Moscow said though he does not know what the deer collision rate in Whitman County is, he does not believe it is comparable with the rest of Washington.

“If you look at just eastern Washington, it'd probably be higher,” he said. “With Whitman County, you could probably look at the Idaho numbers. They would be more accurate (for the county).”

Idaho drivers' chances of colliding with a deer are 1 in 146, a nearly 18 percent increase from this same time last year. Idaho is ranked at 26th in the nation for deer collisions.

The worst deer-related accidents are when the drivers swerve to avoid the deer, Knudson said.