Car-deer fatalities up in U.S., but not Idaho

Human fatalities from vehicle crashes with deer and other animals have more than doubled over the past 15 years in the U.S., according to an insurance industry-funded study that cites urban sprawl into deer habitat.

And November is often the most dangerous month of the year.

The report by the Highway Loss Data Institute found that 223 people died in animal-vehicle crashes last year, up from 150 in 2000 and 101 in 1993.

Idaho accounted for only one of those deaths in 2007 and hasn't shown much of an increase in such fatal accidents over the past 15 years - despite a growing population and an increase in urban sprawl, especially in the Boise area.

But drivers should be wary in areas frequented by wildlife - especially in the Warm Springs area in Boise. Vehicle accidents involving deer happen so often there this time of year that officials lowered the speed limit on Warm Springs Avenue to 35 mph this week.

Most of the biggest gains in such fatal accidents were reported in midwestern states like Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Since 1993, Texas has had the most deaths, with 227, followed by Wisconsin with 123 and Pennsylvania with 112.

Idaho officials report 33 human fatalities from collisions with animals since 1993, or about two a year.

The most on record was 2006, when six such accidents were reported statewide, according to the study. In 1996, there were four fatal accidents.

SPRAWL MEANS MORE ANIMAL COLLISIONS

The Highway Loss Data Institute and its sister organization, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, looked at both insurance claims and federal crash data. According to the report, deer are the animal most often involved in the fatal collisions.

"Urban sprawl means suburbia and deer habitat intersect in many parts of the country," said Kim Hazelbaker, the Highway Loss Data Institute's senior vice president. "If you're driving in areas where deer are prevalent, the caution flag is out, especially in November."

The study found that insurance claims for crashes with animals are three times higher in November than they are from January to September.

"The months with the most crash deaths coincide with fall breeding season," said Anne McCartt, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's senior vice president for research.

WATCH OUT ON WARM SPRINGS THIS WINTER

One of Idaho's most dangerous areas for both drivers and deer is 17 miles along the Warm Springs corridor east of Boise - starting near Warm Springs Mesa off Warm Springs Avenue and up Idaho 21 to the Robie Creek turnoff.

Idaho Fish and Game officials estimate there are up to 8,000 mule deer in the area incorporating Lucky Peak and Arrowrock reservoirs and the Boise River.

More than 230 deer were killed along that stretch in 2001, which resulted in the lowering of nighttime speed limits to 35 mph during the winter on Warm Springs. This year, the speed limit on Warm Springs was lowered Thursday.

Since 2001, numbers have dropped, but more than 100 deer are killed every year along the corridor, Fish and Game officials say.

Greg Burak is a senior wildlife research biologist with Fish and Game familiar with the vehicle-deer problem areas like the Warm Springs corridor, U.S. 30 near Montpelier in the corner of southeast Idaho, and U.S. 95 in the Panhandle.

Burak says it's hard to say why Idaho has a relatively low number of fatal crashes, but he hopes that public education, saturation patrols, and lower speed limits in problem areas like Warm Springs Avenue could be having an effect.

"I think hitting a deer at 35 mph as opposed to hitting one at 75 mph might have something to do with it," Burak said.

Ada County Highway District spokeswoman Robbie Johnson said the speed reduction from 45 mph to 35 mph after sundown serves a two-fold purpose - to try to prevent animal collisions in general and the severity of the impact when they occur.

Fish and Game officials applied for a renewable $500,000 federal transportation grant earlier to study and draft site-specific plans to prevent vehicle-deer collisions, but that program was suspended this year by the Idaho Transportation Department, which administers the grant, due to budget shortfalls. Burak said he hopes to reapply for the grant later.

DEER ARE STILL A MINOR CAUSE OF TRAFFIC DEATHS

The Governors Highway Safety Association cautioned that the numbers need to be looked at in context, citing the more than 12,000 drunken driving deaths that occur each year.

"Deer crashes are a small highway safety problem in terms of total deaths," said the group's spokesman, Jonathan Adkins. "This problem is perceived to be a lot more common than the reality."

Adkins said there are no proven countermeasures, other than fencing, "which is extremely expensive and not practical. "

"Our message to motorists is to slow down," he said, "particularly at dusk and on rural roads."

In the 2004 study, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that fencing, combined with underpasses and overpasses, can be an effective way to prevent deer-vehicle crashes.

As to the size of the problem, McCartt said, "I agree that the number doesn't compare to the number of people killed in alcohol-related crashes, but it is going up.

"We're not suggesting it's of the same magnitude, but they do result in injuries and death."

The overall number of animal-vehicle crashes is also on the rise.

The report says that State Farm Insurance Co., the nation's largest car insurer, has estimated 1.2 million claims industrywide for crashes with animals over a 12-month period ending June 30 of this year. State Farm says that claims for those types of crashes have increased nearly 15 percent over the last five years.

Patrick Orr: 373-6619