Watch out for deer out on Virginia’s roads

Drivers can face many hazards. Sometimes, their fellow motorists act unsafely. Poor road or weather conditions can arise. And sometimes, animals create safety risks for drivers.

Take, for example, large animals like deer. When such animals go out on the roads, there can be the potential for traffic accidents to occur that can cause significant damage and harm.

Recently, State Farm released some estimates on how many collisions between motor vehicles and large animals like deer, elk, moose and caribou occurred here in the U.S. from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.

The statistics indicate that there were around 10,000 fewer such crashes over this time than was the case in the prior one-year period.

However, this does not mean Virginia drivers can put their guard down on this front.

For one, there were still well over a million car accidents involving such animals over this period. Specifically, there were an estimated 1.33 million such crashes. So, collisions with dear and similar animals remain a very common occurrence on U.S. roads.

Also, Virginia is among the states that State Farm has identified as high-risk when it comes to these types of accidents.

And we are currently in a time of year where deer crash risk can be especially high: the October-to-December mating season.

So, this time of year especially, it can be critical for drivers in Virginia to be mindful of the potential for deer to jump out on the roads and to keep an especially close look-out for such animals. How good of a job, generally, do you think drivers in the state do on this front?

We hope this fall will be a safe one out on Virginia’s roads.