In the January 11, 2011 Des Moines Register there’s an article discussing the risk of colliding with deer in Iowa and where we rank in terms of the risk of such a collision in other states. We rank pretty high; 2nd by what’s said in the article. I’ve been reading accident reports now pretty steady for several years, 30 to be exact, and over the past 5 years I’ve noticed a higher percentage of deer-car-truck-motorcycle collisions. The timing of the article is interesting, because just last night I called my wife to the window in our home office where I write this blog to see the herd of deer in our backyard. I like seeing the deer because it’s a signal that we haven’t completely screwed up the environment. Todd Miler, the lawyer I share office space with hit a deer several weeks ago. His Dodge truck first hit the deer and then he ran it over. He described the truck being raised off the ground as if he were going over a large mound of dirt. Because his truck is raised up the collision did little damage to the front.

These are photographs I took on January 10, 2010 showing several of the deer I can see from the window of my home. This herd had 8 to 10 in it; mostly young around 2 to 4 years old. Here in my yard they are a wonder to watch, but out on the highway they are a growing problem.

See Iowa rates second on deer-car colliision risk list, Des Moines Register, January 11, 2011. There are some really nice maps from State Farm Insurance and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.