Crashes Involving Deer Reach Five-Year High [CHART]
SEMCOG says this is the time of year when car-deer crashes happen most often.
Fall is the time of year when vehicle crashes involving deer are most likely to happen in Metro Detroit. The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments says the number of car-deer crashes rose to 5,871 in 2015, the highest in five years. Most occur between 5-8 a.m. and 6-10 p.m., and during the deer-hunting months of October, November, and December. SEMCOG Deputy Executive Director Carmine Palombo tells WDET’s Pat Batcheller the increase in car-deer collisions reflects overall traffic trends in the seven counties surrounding Metro Detroit (Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Livingston, Monroe, and St. Clair). Oakland County had the highest number of crashes involving deer in 2015 (1,873), followed by Washtenaw County (1,062). Click on the audio player to hear the conversation.
Click HERE to see SEMCOG’s interactive Traffic Crash Data page.
