Deer Vehicle Crash Study

MINNESOTA — Deer crashes are very common in both Minnesota and Wisconsin.

What can be done to help decrease the number of deer vehicle crashes is the subject of a study sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

There are about 4,000 deer vehicle crashes reported each year in Minnesota. However, researchers believe that number may account for only about 10 percent of the crashes, and these are the more serious incidents.

“From my perspective one of those sorts of mild deer vehicle crashes where there’s really very little damage to the vehicle, has the potential to be a really severe vehicle deer collision if the conditions are just slightly different,” said Ron Moen, Associate Professor in the UMD Biology Department and National Research Institute.

Trying to determine where more of the collisions are taking place will allow researchers to have more and better information and help them discover ways to reduce the crashes.