Your Odds of Hitting a Deer in Montana are 2nd Highest in the US

Your chances of hitting a deer with your vehicle in Montana are ridiculously high.

Most residents joke that it's not "if", but "when."  Everyone knows someone who proudly brags that they've never hit a deer. Then, there's the rest of us.

We were coming back from Deadmans Basin one time, in the middle of a summer afternoon and a muley slammed into the side of my buddy's pickup. Another time, I was driving at night, in the winter, on the two-lane between Columbus and Highway 212 (a notoriously deer-prone area) and slammed into a small doe that lept into the middle of the snowy road.

Only West Virginia tops the Treasure State for most deer vs. car accidents.

According to accident data from insurance giant State Farm, Montana drivers have a 1 in 52 chance of hitting a deer; nearly twice the national average of 1 in 128. 

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1.8 million wildlife collisions last year in the US.

That figure is only for people who filed insurance claims after hitting a deer. Surely,  countless Montanas don't report their deer vs. car collisions to insurance. Maybe they drive a big farm truck with a heavy-duty bumper and the damage was minimal, perhaps they'd like to avoid an insurance claim, or maybe they're lucky enough to receive little damage from the run-in.

Prime time deer time is coming up.

According to State Farm's findings, the most dangerous time of year for hitting a deer in Montana is (in order) November, October, and December. Their study notes the obvious, "A paved, rural road with little traffic and low light is a common scenario to hit wildlife." That's, what? 90% of Montana roads?

The report noted that other factors like speeding or being on your phone can increase your chance of a deer collision by 23%. Stay safe on the roads, Montana, and good luck dodging those deer.