It is relatively easy to read the statistics about crime, house fires, and lightening strikes and not feel particularly threatened by them.
It's different, however, when you are included in those statistics. The big buck came out of nowhere and planted himself squarely in the middle of my truck's grill.
Collisions between vehicles and animals are a growing problem nationwide. Most accidents involve deer and occur more frequently in October and November.
According to a report from the Highway Loss Data Institute, an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, car-animal collisions are nearly three times higher during November than a typical month earlier in the year. In 2007, for example, owners filed 14 claims for every 1,000 vehicles compared with five claims per 1,000 during January-September.
I should have read that report a couple of weeks ago as a reminder to slow down and be more watchful of events along the roadside, especially at night.
A couple thousand dollars later and after some heckling from friends and family, I decided to make the most of the opportunity and expand my lobbying effort for a new truck. That's when the trouble started.
A witness at the scene reported that I crossed the centerline and went onto the shoulder on the other side before striking the deer. A damnable lie if I ever heard one; a few inches toward the middle of the road maybe, but that's all.
Another one said I speeded up just before the impact. I don't remember any such acceleration, and why don't these busy bodies keep their half-baked opinions to themselves?
No one, it seems, felt sorry for me, what with the trauma associated with having the front end of my truck disintegrate right before my very eyes. Especially lacking empathy was my significant other who appeared not at all concerned that I barely escaped bodily harm in a serious accident.
I think she actually believed those misguided scoundrels who made such a fuss over my brief episode of inattentive driving. How could anyone think that I would go out of my way to hit that poor defenseless animal just so I could selfishly buy a new truck?
Well, the family money manager for one. As in the past, she ignored yet another attempt to close the deal on some new wheels.
"Hear that tick in the engine. The old girl seems to be on her last leg."
"Just turn up the radio; it'll go away."
"Listen to those brakes squeal; this junker isn't safe to ride in."
"That's why we have seat belts."
"The truck is fine, and we can't afford a new one," she whines. I then reminded her of the new car she received as a Christmas present a couple of years ago and the cruise she's planning with her sisters.
"Those aren't exactly cheap indulgences, Honey Bug."
"And the deals they're making on all the over-stocked trucks rusting away on the lot - why they're practically giving these babies away. Whadda ya' think?"
Nothing seemed to work, so I finally took matters into my own hands and hitched a ride to the dealership. Just as I thought, the door was open and the friendly sales staff was eager to offer the deal of a lifetime to a determined buyer.
Besides, I'm convinced the first time Bug goes for a ride in my new, all-tricked-out cream puff, she'll fall in love with it just like I did.
We cannot ignore the seriousness of car-deer collisions, however. The incidence of those accidents is rising. State Farm, the nation's largest auto insurer, estimates there were 1.2 million claims for damage in animal-related crashes during the last half of 2007 and the first half of 2008. Claims have increased nearly 15 percent over the past five years, according to the company.
Fatalities are also on the rise. In 1993, 101 people died in crashes involving animals nationwide. By 2007, the number had risen to 223. The states with the largest number of total deaths (1993-2007) are Texas with 227, Wisconsin with 123 and Pennsylvania with 112.
According to Anne McCartt, IIHS's senior vice president for research, "Crashes in which people are killed are most likely to occur in rural areas on roads with speed limits of 55 mph or higher."
They are also more likely to occur in darkness, she points out.
Boy, does that scenario ring a bell. By the way, anybody looking for a barely used and well-maintained '04 Ford F150 super cab? It sports a bright new grill, headlight and bumper.
- Lee Fahrney is the Times outdoors writer. He can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
It's different, however, when you are included in those statistics. The big buck came out of nowhere and planted himself squarely in the middle of my truck's grill.
Collisions between vehicles and animals are a growing problem nationwide. Most accidents involve deer and occur more frequently in October and November.
According to a report from the Highway Loss Data Institute, an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, car-animal collisions are nearly three times higher during November than a typical month earlier in the year. In 2007, for example, owners filed 14 claims for every 1,000 vehicles compared with five claims per 1,000 during January-September.
I should have read that report a couple of weeks ago as a reminder to slow down and be more watchful of events along the roadside, especially at night.
A couple thousand dollars later and after some heckling from friends and family, I decided to make the most of the opportunity and expand my lobbying effort for a new truck. That's when the trouble started.
A witness at the scene reported that I crossed the centerline and went onto the shoulder on the other side before striking the deer. A damnable lie if I ever heard one; a few inches toward the middle of the road maybe, but that's all.
Another one said I speeded up just before the impact. I don't remember any such acceleration, and why don't these busy bodies keep their half-baked opinions to themselves?
No one, it seems, felt sorry for me, what with the trauma associated with having the front end of my truck disintegrate right before my very eyes. Especially lacking empathy was my significant other who appeared not at all concerned that I barely escaped bodily harm in a serious accident.
I think she actually believed those misguided scoundrels who made such a fuss over my brief episode of inattentive driving. How could anyone think that I would go out of my way to hit that poor defenseless animal just so I could selfishly buy a new truck?
Well, the family money manager for one. As in the past, she ignored yet another attempt to close the deal on some new wheels.
"Hear that tick in the engine. The old girl seems to be on her last leg."
"Just turn up the radio; it'll go away."
"Listen to those brakes squeal; this junker isn't safe to ride in."
"That's why we have seat belts."
"The truck is fine, and we can't afford a new one," she whines. I then reminded her of the new car she received as a Christmas present a couple of years ago and the cruise she's planning with her sisters.
"Those aren't exactly cheap indulgences, Honey Bug."
"And the deals they're making on all the over-stocked trucks rusting away on the lot - why they're practically giving these babies away. Whadda ya' think?"
Nothing seemed to work, so I finally took matters into my own hands and hitched a ride to the dealership. Just as I thought, the door was open and the friendly sales staff was eager to offer the deal of a lifetime to a determined buyer.
Besides, I'm convinced the first time Bug goes for a ride in my new, all-tricked-out cream puff, she'll fall in love with it just like I did.
We cannot ignore the seriousness of car-deer collisions, however. The incidence of those accidents is rising. State Farm, the nation's largest auto insurer, estimates there were 1.2 million claims for damage in animal-related crashes during the last half of 2007 and the first half of 2008. Claims have increased nearly 15 percent over the past five years, according to the company.
Fatalities are also on the rise. In 1993, 101 people died in crashes involving animals nationwide. By 2007, the number had risen to 223. The states with the largest number of total deaths (1993-2007) are Texas with 227, Wisconsin with 123 and Pennsylvania with 112.
According to Anne McCartt, IIHS's senior vice president for research, "Crashes in which people are killed are most likely to occur in rural areas on roads with speed limits of 55 mph or higher."
They are also more likely to occur in darkness, she points out.
Boy, does that scenario ring a bell. By the way, anybody looking for a barely used and well-maintained '04 Ford F150 super cab? It sports a bright new grill, headlight and bumper.
- Lee Fahrney is the Times outdoors writer. He can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
