Star Tribune (Minneapolis) The Drive column

Oct. 20--The odds of hitting a deer while driving in Minnesota have gone down by 10 percent in a year, according to a recent claims analysis by auto insurer State Farm. The insurance giant says motorists in the Gopher State have a 1 in 80 chance of colliding with a deer over the next 12 months, down from 1 in 88 from the previous year.

Even with a slightly reduced risk, Major Greg Salo of the Minnesota DNR's Enforcement Division has this message for drivers: "Don't drop your guard."

From mid-October through Thanksgiving, deer migration is at its peak as hunting season is underway. Add to that the fall mating season, which means bucks and does are out looking for dates with mates. And no, they didn't get the memo about not playing in the highway. Translation: This is prime season for car-deer crashes with 30 percent of all such wrecks occurring in October and November and another 11 percent in December.

According to State Farm's research, which relied on claims data and licensed-driver counts from the Federal Highway Administration, more than 37,549 Minnesota motorists will file a claim in the coming year as a result of a car-deer collision. Minnesota ranks as the eighth most likely state for such a mishap, down from sixth last year. For the record, West Virginia retained its No. 1 ranking with one car-deer crash for every 39 drivers. Neighboring Iowa, came in at No. 4 with one for every 77 drivers and South Dakota checked in at No. 5 with odds of 1 in 82. The least likely place to hit a buck: Hawaii at 1 in 10,281. The national average is 1 in 169.

But it only takes one to damage a car and put motorists at risk of serious injury.

"Deer and vehicles sharing the road can be a dangerous combination," said Lt. Eric Roeske of the State Patrol. "Seeing a dead deer on the shoulder is a familiar site in Minnesota. It's a reminder, as we enjoy the fall season, to stay alert and stay safe by scanning for deer moving across the road."

Best advice? Hit the deer

Salo said drivers should be on high alert at sunrise and sunset, and be vigilant in areas where roads pass by agricultural fields or cut through wooded areas. Deer can appear any time or anywhere -- even in the metro area -- as urban sprawl has pushed deer into more populated areas. Often they are unpredictable, he said.

Car-deer collisions can be deadly. There were 175 fatalities nationwide in 2012, according to the Insurance Information Institute and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and 18 in Minnesota from 2011 to 2013, according to the Department of Public Safety. Yet there are things motorists can do to stay safe: wear seat belts, scan the road for deer and other danger signs, and pay attention to signs warning that deer are common in the area. At night, use high beams when oncoming traffic is not present to increase visibility, and slow down. Honking a horn might scare a deer off the road.

One thing motorists should not do if they encounter a deer: swerve to avoid it. The best advice, Salo said, is to hit the deer head-on rather than risk colliding with an oncoming vehicle.

"We'd rather see damage to the car and have the deer die," he said. "Sometimes there is not a whole lot you can do. Drivers can work so hard to avoid hitting the deer and then a more catastrophic accident results. If there is no safe place to go, just hit it. That can be a pain, but property can be fixed."

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