Officials: High temps may cause rise in deer-vehicle collisions
Numbers doubled in June compared with May
FARMINGTON — The increase in the number of collisions between deer and automobiles statewide nearly doubled from May to June, and some officials believe it’s related to the rising summer temperatures.
The insurance company State Farm released data earlier this month that showed more than 12 percent of all deer collisions in 2016 in New Mexico occurred in June compared with fewer than 7 percent in May, according to a press release.
But drivers worried about experiencing such a collision can be comforted by the fact that the numbers begin to dwindle again in July.
There were 58 deer-involved crashes statewide in June 2016, or 12.2 percent of all crashes for 2016, according to NMDOT figures. June was the month with the most deer-involved collisions in 2016, with 51 occurring in March and 50 taking place in December.
For May 2016, 36 deer-involved crashes occurred statewide, or 7.6 percent of all crashes for 2016. The figure for July 2016 statewide also was 36.
The insurance data — based on State Farm’s claims and the number of statelicensed drivers — also showed there was a 1 in 415 chance that a vehicle in New Mexico would strike a deer in 2016.
The company’s data varies widely from state to state, even among those that border each other. In Arizona, the chances of a deer colliding with a vehicle are 1 in 1,175, while Utah had a 1-in-150 chance and Colorado a 1-in-264 chance.
State Farm’s numbers are similar to preliminary figures compiled by the New Mexico Department of Transportation for 2016.
Most deer/vehicle collisions usually involve damage only to the vehicle and don’t result in injuries to passengers, Sgt. Terry McCoy of the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office said.
NMDOT data shows 35 of the 474 deer-involved crashes statewide in 2016, approximately 7.4 percent, left passengers injured.
San Juan County saw the most deerinvolved crashes in New Mexico, with 94 in 2014 and 100 in 2015, according to NMDOT.
Grant County in southwest New Mexico had the second-most deer-involved crashes in that time period, registering 83 in 2014 and 98 in 2015.
According to preliminary figures, Grant County overtook San Juan County in 2016 with 70 crashes as San Juan County registered 66 deer-involved crashes.
McCoy and other officials interviewed for this story did not have a firm idea of why deer-involved crashes typically double from May to June statewide, but some believe it’s due to the rising summer temperatures, which they say prompt deer to seek water from nearby waterways more often.
Hall Sawyer, a research biologist at Western Ecosystems Technology Inc. in Laramie, Wyo., a company that provides environmental and statistical consulting services, said in an email the deer in the San Juan Basin tend to migrate in late April and May.