Charleston Gazette-Mail Begging your pardon, deer
Nov. 28
It turns out that West Virginia, usually in the bottom of the rest of the United States in any given statistic, is at the top of at least one list. As per usual when this happens, it’s not a category that’s a point of pride to lead, but, in this case, at least it’s not really anyone’s fault.
According to insurance statistics, West Virginia leads the nation in car collisions involving deer. As of last week, 10,618 deer have been hit by vehicles traveling on West Virginia highways in 2023. Information compiled by State Farm puts the odds of hitting a deer on the road in West Virginia at any given time at 1-in37. Second highest is Missouri, at 1-in-47, and Pennsylvania, where one has a 1-in-51 chance of hitting a deer, is third. For the curious, one is least likely (1-in-816) to hit a deer in Washington, D.C., followed by Hawaii (1-in-649) and Nevada (1-in-551).
This news is shocking … to no one in West Virginia.
Mountain State residents are well-accustomed to the uneasy alliance with odocoileus virginianus (the white-tailed deer). For decades, the basic tenets of this treaty have been that West Virginians are allowed to abandon all other responsibilities during deer season and hunt to their hearts’ content. In exchange, deer are allowed kamikaze-like retribution year round, whacking into fast-moving vehicles and causing hundreds — if not thousands — of dollars in damage and no small amount of potential injury to motorists.
This happens in a lot of places, but West Virginia is different because the boundaries of engagement aren’t limited to highways. Sure, that’s where the most serious collisions occur, because cars are moving faster and deer, despite what statistics and eye-test experience show, aren’t supposed to be there.
However, it is not unusual to see large numbers of deer together in suburban neighborhoods and secondary roads at just about any time of day and season in West Virginia. Some of these creatures are so used to cohabitating with humans that they’re downright surly. If it’s possible for deer to give off an attitude, it’s definitely one that states the people are in their way, not the other way around.
Naturally, collisions are less likely and less serious in these situations because cars are moving slower, and deer are used to the vehicles. But it’s not uncommon for one deer to randomly freak out and bound into the road, and, when that happens, especially with other deer around, all bets are off.
So, be careful when driving early in the morning and at night, and take it slow if you see deer near the road. Sure, in some settings they seem almost domesticated, but, as most West Virginians know, they’re not. A little caution is worth avoiding a lot of vehicle damage or becoming one of the estimated 10,000 people nationwide who are injured in a vehicle collision involving a deer each year.