Drivers around South Carolina have more chance of crashing into a deer than drivers in most other states, according to an insurance company study.
“South Carolina drivers face a higher likelihood of striking a deer than the national average and rank 11th out of the 50 states,” says Justin Tomczak, a spokesman for State Farm insurance company, the nation’s largest auto insurance firm..
Already this year, four people – three on motorcycles and one in a car – have died after crashing into a deer. Six South Carolinians died last year.
The last three happened in September.
Several weeks ago, a husband and wife riding their Kawasaki motorcycle down a road in a wooded area in Barnwell County died after striking a deer.
A few days later, in Richland County, Jonathan J. McNaughton, 31, died after his motorcycle struck a deer in the 3100 block of Kennerly Road Tuesday., according to county coroner Gary Watts.
In 2012 in South Carolina, 518 people were injured in deer -human collisions and 1,935 vehicles or other property were damaged, according to the Department of Public Safety. So far this year, as of Aug. 31, 238 people have been injured and 805 cases of property damage to vehicles have been reported.
Around the country, the odds that a driver will strike a deer has declined by about 4 percent, State Farm’s study said.
West Virginia is the state in which a driver is most likely to strike a deer, with the company estimated that the chances are 1 in 41. Hawaii is the state in which deer-vehicle crashes are least likely.