Drivers are more likely to hit an animal with their vehicle in Michigan than most other places in the United States.
The state ranks fourth in the nation for collisions between cars and animals, a State Farm data report released Tuesday showed.
The likelihood of hitting an animal is one in 60. Deer collisions once again led the yearly ranking as the top animal struck, followed by rodents (squirrels or other), dogs, raccoons and coyotes.
However, Michigan is second on the list in 2023 for placing the most insurance claims for these types of collisions.
Pennsylvania had the highest number of claims nationwide, an estimated 153,397 from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023. Michigan ranked second with 133,636 for the same period, according to numbers compiled by the insurance provider.
Texas followed with 96,000 claims, then North Carolina with 88,770 and Ohio with 82,395.
Rodents are not only involved in collisions but included in claims data as an animal-related loss for the damage they cause to vehicles, like chewing wires, according to State Farm.
Furthermore, November is the peak time for the crashes, with October the second-highest month for animal collisions and December at No. 3.
Deer mating season, hunting season, foraging before winter and changing light conditions contribute to the increased collisions this time of year, according to the Michigan State Police. Because deer are most active at dawn and dusk, it is not surprising that most crashes involving deer happen from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
“If you’re driving on a paved, rural road without much traffic and the sky is not quite dark, you are in the most common scenario to hit wildlife,” State Farm wrote in the report.
One study estimated about 200 people die in the U.S. each year from hitting a deer.
Nationwide, U.S. drivers had a 1 in 127 chance of hitting an animal while on the road, with 1.8 million insurance claims filed for the 2022-2023 crashes.
State Farm Tuesday provided the following tips to avoid and handle an animal collision:
