As October approaches, so does the season with the most number of deer-versus-vehicle collisions.
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Deer Program Coordinator Cory Gray said while drivers typically see a large increase in the deer population in November, deer season stretches from October into December. During this time, drivers will likely see more bucks than does, Gray said.
State Farm Insurance said in a news release Monday that compared to previous years, Arkansas drivers had fewer collisions with deer for the year ending June 30, 2014. However, the state still ranks 13th in the top 20 states with the highest number of deer collisions. The agency estimated about 20,500 vehicle collisions with deer occurred in Arkansas alone, extrapolating data from claims made by drivers with State Farm insurance.
In 2005, collision claims involving deer in Arkansas totaled $35 million. In 2014, State Farm said the cost of those collisions in Arkansas totaled $79 million.
While many blame the deer population for the high number of collisions, Gray said is often has more to do with how many highways a state has and where they are located.
However, Gray said that since reporting such collisions is voluntary, there really isn’t a reliable way to determine how large a problem they are.
Arkansas State Police do keep records of how many collisions involve animals, however they have not kept deer-specific statistics since a report produced in 2001 that tracked the collisions from 1998 to 2001 and was published in the Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science in 2005.
In that publication, University of Arkansas at Monticello’s Dean of the School of Forest Resources Phillip Tappe wrote that the state should have "a unified, consistent effort to collect information and institute mitigation measures," and proposed that educational efforts "be focused at both policy makers and the general public."
Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said most Arkansas drivers are aware of the dangers and know the “hot spots” on highways where deer are most likely to be.
“Quite frankly, just about anywhere on any two-lane highway in Arkansas you are likely to see a deer during this season,” Sadler said.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission only picks up the deer carcasses occasionally, as they don’t have the staff to do it all the time, Gray said. The job is often left to local counties or the the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. The corpses are then deposited at a landfill, he said.
If a person in Arkansas is present at the scene of the accident, they can remove the dead deer and take it home themselves, once they have filed a police report and cleared it with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
As the season approaches, Arkansas drivers are warned to be aware of deer near the road, especially in the late evening, at night and in the early morning, when deer are most likely to appear.