https://autos.yahoo.com/news/top-10-states-where-likely-hit-deer-200024483.html
West Virginia hits takes top honors, which is fitting since the white tailed deer is specifically identified as the Virginia Whitetail Deer (even when they live in Montana), and the whitetail's scientific name is Odocoileus virginianus.
My previous state of residence, Montana, is third on the list (1 chance in 75 to hit a deer next year), and that doesn't seem as high as the way I remember it. I've hit more deer than I can count. I've had them end up on top of the car. I had to apply the brakes one time to get the damn thing to slide down onto the hood, and then off the front bumper.
I've also hit bear on two occasions, and once I hit a moose. Another time I almost had a moose fall on the car from a cliff above the road. He missed me by about 10 feet. On a drive through Glacier Park, I almost hit a mountain goat. Well, actually missed him by 50 yards, but I like to fantasize that I could have added a mountain goat to my list of road killed trophies.
Quote
According to State Farm Insurance, for the eighth year in a row, West Virginia tops the list of states where a collision is most likely. The odds a driver in the Mountain State will collide with a deer are 1 in 39, nearly a 5 percent increase compared to 2013.
Hawaii rounds out the bottom of the list also for the eighth year in a row with odds of 1 in 10,281. Hawaiians are three times more likely to get struck by lightning in their lifetime than they are to hit a deer in the next year.
Here are the Top 10 States Where You Will Hit a Deer (with the odds thrown in)
1. West Virginia 1 in 39
2. Pennsylvania 1 in 71
3. Montana 1 in 75
4. Iowa 1 in 77
5. South Dakota 1 in 82
6. Mississippi 1 in 84
7. Wisconsin 1 in 85
8. Minnesota 1 in 88
9. Virginia 1 in 88
10. South Carolina 1 in 93
Another reason to move to West Virginia. I have recipes for road kill. Next vehicle- either a 4Runner or a Honda Pilot- will have crash bars on the front and a winch to hoist the deer with.
Ironically WV is also probably the most likely place to be shot and killed by a drunken deer hunter.. I wonder what the odds are there..
Quote from: AllPurposeAtheist on September 28, 2014, 10:05:17 AM
Ironically WV is also probably the most likely place to be shot and killed by a drunken deer hunter.. I wonder what the odds are there..
1 out of 3, probably, but the real risk is in being kidnapped and killed by those guys in Deliverance.
Quote from: SGOS on September 28, 2014, 10:13:49 AM
1 out of 3, probably, but the real risk is in being kidnapped and killed by those guys in Deliverance.
That's why I bought a banjo and can pick out most of the song.. I'm perilously close to knowing how to play it on the guitar though..
Quote from: SGOS on September 28, 2014, 09:59:33 AM
I've hit more deer than I can count. I've had them end up on top of the car. I had to apply the brakes one time to get the damn thing to slide down onto the hood, and then off the front bumper.
I've also hit bear on two occasions, and once I hit a moose.
Note to self, never get into a car with SGOS.
I'm surprised North Carolina isn't higher on the list. It's probably comparable to South Carolina.
I've had a couple near-collisions, myself. I saw one guy's car with heavy damage from a deer - bumper barely on, cracked windshield, rear-view mirror completely snapped off, lots of dents and scratching all across the right door. Must've really slammed into the poor bugger.
As much as I love fuzzy animals, I don't mind hunters thinning out the herd. Damn things are everywhere over here.
Quote from: Johan on September 28, 2014, 10:37:28 AMNote to self, never get into a car with SGOS.
Unless it's a Death Race. :razz:
Living on the NJ/PA border for a good 20 years, I can't believe I have never hit a deer. They are like rats running everywhere in Bucks/Mercer counties.
I guess I am just lucky. Or I know how to use my high beams.
(http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq173/outdrdave/weird%20stuff/Virginiadeer3.jpg)
For the record, that is a 2 point (western count) or a 4 point (eastern count)
Boy howdy, sum good eatin' raht thayer
(and the hind quarters is already pre-tenderized. :biggrin:)
Thing is though, seriously, those things are mouse-colored and move about at twilight or dawn when visibility is not the best. I have fairly trained eyeballs from driving mountain roads and look for them constantly, but they always do the supid thing and dart in front of you when least expected.
It's the eyeball reflection that I look for.
What a gruesome photo. The humerus sticking out of the front leg for extra ewwwww.
Quote from: stromboli on September 28, 2014, 10:46:57 AMBoy howdy, sum good eatin' raht thayer
(and the hind quarters is already pre-tenderized. :biggrin:)
*notices the bone sticking out of the skin*
(http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/dbtk.gif)
Quote from: Hydra009 on September 28, 2014, 10:39:40 AM
Unless it's a Death Race. :razz:
I've collected on my comprehensive insurance a lot. Hitting numerous deer or other wild animal does not affect your insurance. I asked my insurance agent about this. He said, "No. It's considered an act of god, and no one is held at fault."
In line with Stomboli's comment, I have a friend who mounted custom welded crash bars on the front of his wife's sedan. I've never seen anything quite like that. Lot's of pickups have them, but not the family car. He told his wife, if a deer jumps out on the road, don't swerve and don't slam on the brakes. Don't slow down (I'm not kidding). He told her to just crash directly into it. Take it head on.
Well that's even a little over the top for my standards. While I've hit a lot of deer, I've skillfully managed to miss just as many.
Quote from: Mermaid on September 28, 2014, 10:54:41 AM
It's the eyeball reflection that I look for.
What a gruesome photo. The humerus sticking out of the front leg for extra ewwwww.
And pre-boned. What more could you ask for?
It may be a humerus, but it's not funny. Good eating only if gutted, bled, and cooked correctly, or not eating pine needles. In Illinois they were usually corn fed. But when done correctly, and barbecued, excellent.
A friend in upstate NY welded a big cage on the front of a land cruiser specifically for harvesting deer.. A trailer on back to drag em home..
You could build a scoop like they had in Soylent Green.
Quote from: SGOS on September 28, 2014, 01:58:50 PM
You could build a scoop like they had in Soylent Green.
Pssst.. Soylent Green is people..
Quote from: SGOS on September 28, 2014, 11:01:17 AM
I've collected on my comprehensive insurance a lot. Hitting numerous deer or other wild animal does not affect your insurance. I asked my insurance agent about this. He said, "No. It's considered an act of god, and no one is held at fault."
Better not let your insurance agent know you hold atheist beliefs. They might decide to write all those 'act of god' clauses right out of your policy if they know you don't actually believe in the old dude.
QuoteIn line with Stomboli's comment, I have a friend who mounted custom welded crash bars on the front of his wife's sedan. I've never seen anything quite like that. Lot's of pickups have them, but not the family car. He told his wife, if a deer jumps out on the road, don't swerve and don't slam on the brakes. Don't slow down (I'm not kidding). He told her to just crash directly into it. Take it head on.
Well that's even a little over the top for my standards. While I've hit a lot of deer, I've skillfully managed to miss just as many.
I had a job offer a few years ago at one of those closed coarse automotive proving ground type places (there are lots of them in Michigan) doing torture testing of tractor trailer transmissions. I really wanted to take the job because I wanted to be able to say that I was one of those 'do not attempt, professional driver on a closed course' type guys. But the job was actually going to be very mundane with no potential for upward advancement so I passed on it.
But one of the questions they were very specific about in the interview was whether or not I would have an issue with having to kill deer in the coarse of doing my job. Apparently, there are a metric shit ton of deer on the proving ground property and they had some issues with drivers who decided to try to avoid hitting them and ended up taking the factory new test trucks off the track, into the weeds and then rolling them over. So their policy was if a deer gets in front of you on the track, aim for it and hit it. Much cheaper to repair the grill and power wash off the rest than upright a rolled truck when you end up off the track and on your side.
Quote from: Johan on September 28, 2014, 05:53:55 PM
I had a job offer a few years ago at one of those closed coarse automotive proving ground type places (there are lots of them in Michigan) doing torture testing of tractor trailer transmissions.
That was an interesting post. But I suppose crashing into deer makes financial sense if it's good for the companies bottom line. I had a friend in Washington State who operated a massive several ton shaking gizmo for testing cars. He would secure the car to the plate and then violently shake it for days until something would fail on the car. Then he would write a report or something, I guess.
Quote from: SGOS on September 28, 2014, 07:16:05 PM
That was an interesting post. But I suppose crashing into deer makes financial sense if it's good for the companies bottom line. I had a friend in Washington State who operated a massive several ton shaking gizmo for testing cars. He would secure the car to the plate and then violently shake it for days until something would fail on the car. Then he would write a report or something, I guess.
Hey, I spose someone's gotta do it.
One of the first rules my dad told me was: if you are driving by yourself, you are free to try to avoid hitting an animal as long as the road is clear, I would hope you realize that trying to miss is far more dangerous to you than to hit it. But if someone is with you or there is oncoming traffic you hit whatever animal is in front of you no matter how cute it is. It is okay to kill yourself for your ideals, but not to kill or endanger someone else in order to save Bambi. It was pretty much the same rule for anything else regarding passengers, speed or drive like a fucking lunatic as long as you don't endanger someone else. If someone is in the car, they are your responsibility, if they die and you don't, I'll kill you myself.
Stuck with me and the same rule I gave my kid.
Quote from: Mermaid on September 28, 2014, 07:25:36 PM
Hey, I spose someone's gotta do it.
Yeah, weird job. I kind of thought the same thing. Fortunately, he didn't have to actually sit in the car, while it was shaking.
Destructive testing is always fun. I worked at a place that made heavy hydraulic lifting equipment and they would drag these 10x10x10 cement blocks out and see how many it took to destroy a 20 inch diameter hydraulic ram. If someone in the neighborhood reported a massive earthquake they called the test off. LOL
Quote from: aitm on September 28, 2014, 07:32:29 PM
But if someone is with you or there is oncoming traffic you hit whatever animal is in front of you no matter how cute it is. It is okay to kill yourself for your ideals, but not to kill or endanger someone else in order to save Bambi.
I definitely agree. In fact, I've never been able to slam on the brakes and lock them in an emergency situation on the highway. I've been lucky so far, but when something suddenly gets in my way, I'm psychologically unprepared to lock the brakes. In those really close situations, when there isn't time to check the rear view, I can't bring myself to lock the brakes and take a chance of getting rear ended. It's like I go for the easy impact. So far that hasn't happened. I've been lucky enough to have enough room to ease my speed quickly. This isn't something I've learned. I've just noticed it's something I do. Frankly it scares me. I don't know what the right thing to do is. I just hope I do it when it needs to be done. Hopefully, I will.
Have you tried taking your hands off the wheel, covering your face with them and screaming in terror?
Quote from: Solitary on September 28, 2014, 01:14:23 PM
It may be a humerus, but it's not funny. Good eating only if gutted, bled, and cooked correctly, or not eating pine needles. In Illinois they were usually corn fed. But when done correctly, and barbecued, excellent.
If the deer breaks it's arm, it might be humerus...
Quote from: PickelledEggs on September 28, 2014, 08:01:35 PM
If the deer breaks it's arm, it might be humerus...
especially since deer only have legs..
Quote from: AllPurposeAtheist on September 28, 2014, 08:10:43 PM
especially since deer only have legs..
I guess it can't ever be humerus then..... isn't that humorous?
Quote from: PickelledEggs on September 28, 2014, 08:12:14 PM
I guess it can't ever be humerus then..... isn't that humorous?
A deer with arms would definitely be humorous and likely mythological at the same time.
I hit one in Minnesota.
Quote from: Jmpty on September 28, 2014, 08:33:05 PM
I hit one in Minnesota.
You hit a deer with arms in Minnesota?
The deer I hit was a young doe. My kids were so inured to blood and gore from me hunting that by then, they didn't even say "eww". Yup, definitely raised em' right. :biggrin:
For all the critters I've hit, I don't actually know if any of them died. They all walked or ran away. Of course that doesn't mean they didn't have internal injuries that would kill them in a couple of days. I even hit a wee spotted fawn once, but by the time I hit it, I was probably going 5 MPH, although it did make a loud "thump" when I hit it. One of the bears I hit at about 40 MPH. He ran in front of me, and almost made it, but I hit him in the ass and sent him for a couple of somersaults. He finished the last somersault on his feet and made the transition from rolling to running with gymnastic ease. He just kept going and ran into the woods.
As a native of and resident of the fine state of West Virginia, I would like to point out that Deliverance took place in and was filmed mostly in Georgia. Although Wrong Turn was about West Virginia, but was filmed somewhere else. As far as deer go, there are hordes of them. I've only hit one, a fawn, it survived and appeared to be uninjured after it basically ended up on the roof on my car. Well, gotta go fornicate with some relatives.
Quote from: Desdinova on September 29, 2014, 12:33:33 PM
As a native of and resident of the fine state of West Virginia, I would like to point out that Deliverance took place in and was filmed mostly in Georgia.
Actually, I knew that when I wrote it, but I was hard pressed to come up with something to join in the merry fun making of West Virginia. And I did watch the movie Wrong Turn, which was more ungracious to West Virginia than anything I've said here. But accept my apology, which I was hoping I wouldn't have to make, hoping no one here was from West Virginia. Actually, I think Virginia is a fine state, and excellent state, best state in the whole damn country. Are we still friends yet? I want to move to West Virginia. It's always been my dream. So are we OK?
Quote from: SGOS on September 29, 2014, 12:43:02 PM
Actually, I knew that when I wrote it, but I was hard pressed to come up with something to join in the merry fun making of West Virginia. And I did watch the movie Wrong Turn, which was more ungracious to West Virginia than anything I've said here. But accept my apology, which I was hoping I wouldn't have to make, hoping no one here was from West Virginia. Actually, I think Virginia is a fine state, and excellent state, best state in the whole damn country. Are we still friends yet? I want to move to West Virginia. It's always been my dream. So are we OK?
LOL, no offense. I've lived here all my life, and believe me there's nothing you can say that I haven't heard before. That being said, we don't do ourselves any favors, and deserve a lot of the shit we get. If you want to see a good movie about WV try "Matewan" directed by John Sayles. It deals with labor union organizing in the coal industry in the 1920's.
Quote from: Desdinova on September 29, 2014, 12:54:42 PM
LOL, no offense. I've lived here all my life, and believe me there's nothing you can say that I haven't heard before. That being said, we don't do ourselves any favors, and deserve a lot of the shit we get. If you want to see a good movie about WV try "Matewan" directed by John Sayles. It deals with labor union organizing in the coal industry in the 1920's.
I watch a couple of movies a day. I'll see if I an find Matewan. Lets see. October Sky comes to mind. I think that was in West Virginia. Very good movie.
Quote from: Desdinova on September 29, 2014, 12:54:42 PM
LOL, no offense. I've lived here all my life, and believe me there's nothing you can say that I haven't heard before. That being said, we don't do ourselves any favors, and deserve a lot of the shit we get. If you want to see a good movie about WV try "Matewan" directed by John Sayles. It deals with labor union organizing in the coal industry in the 1920's.
I have seriously considered moving there, because I've seen real estate prices that were way below what they are here. And they have mountains. My son in law is from there, and he says the roads are like twisted and steep. I love twisted and steep.
Quote from: stromboli on September 29, 2014, 02:48:55 PM
I have seriously considered moving there, because I've seen real estate prices that were way below what they are here. And they have mountains. My son in law is from there, and he says the roads are like twisted and steep. I love twisted and steep.
Come on Strom! Love to have you here! We do have some crazy roads, and lots of mountains and outdoor naturery stuff.
(http://ripleyhs.jack.k12.wv.us/Student's%20Work/WebDesignStatePage/State%20Webpage%20-%20Nicholas%20Fowler/State%20Web%20Page%20NF/Images/westvirginia.jpg)
(http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/west-virginia-wild-and-wonderful-astulia-.jpg)
(http://officialbridgeday.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/69334_449033173555_230435_n.jpg)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a3aL1h_G6eo/TjQA-tKhk9I/AAAAAAAAA2Y/cKcHHWjWTS0/s1600/101.JPG)
(http://charlestonwv.com/img/content/header-images/fort_hill_view.jpg)
I've driven through West Virginia a number of times. Even the Interstates are twisted and steep. I also looked at real estate, and prices are reasonable. I looked at a couple of places that came with free natural gas for as long as there's natural gas. But I didn't settle there. Just didn't find the right place.
I'm definitely interested, but the wife isn't. We have family here, she likes to see the grandkids and stuff. Oh well.
Quote from: SGOS on September 29, 2014, 04:11:07 PM
I've driven through West Virginia a number of times. Even the Interstates are twisted and steep. I also looked at real estate, and prices are reasonable. I looked at a couple of places that came with free natural gas for as long as there's natural gas. But I didn't settle there. Just didn't find the right place.
Here's a video of the drive on I-77 south from Charleston to Beckley. I used to live in Beckley but I'm originally from the Charleston area so I've driven this road hundreds of times. In a small nimble car it's a blast. The distance is about 50 miles, but condensed down to a ten minute video it looks like your going 200 mph.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-NTWePEOys
How are the winters in WV?
Quote from: Desdinova on September 29, 2014, 05:03:48 PM
Here's a video of the drive on I-77 south from Charleston to Beckley.
I've done that route. I stayed overnight in Charleston. Can't remember what Beckley looked like, but I remember that I went through it (or by it).
Quote from: stromboli on September 29, 2014, 05:13:49 PM
How are the winters in WV?
They can be pretty rough in the higher elevations and the northern part of the state. WV has arguably the best skiing in the east. Snowshoe is the largest ski resort in the state. Once you get down into the valleys the winters are fairly mild. The Kanawha and Ohio river valley areas south of Parkersburg see about 11 - 30 inches a year.
Quote from: Desdinova on September 30, 2014, 09:06:03 AM
They can be pretty rough in the higher elevations and the northern part of the state. WV has arguably the best skiing in the east. Snowshoe is the largest ski resort in the state. Once you get down into the valleys the winters are fairly mild. The Kanawha and Ohio river valley areas south of Parkersburg see about 11 - 30 inches a year.
Lol, sounds like Utah.