Car-Deer Crashes are Dangerous and Costly
Monday, December 4th, 2006Deer may be the cause of more highway deaths and injuries in America than any other animal. In 2003, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the National Safety Council reported there were 530,000 animal-related auto accidents resulting in 100 deaths and 10,000 injuries. The average cost for vehicle damage per insurance claim was $2,800. When injuries were factored in, the average cost went to $10,000.1
Deer-related accidents have increased in recent years, partly because of urban sprawl. The fall season is one of the most dangerous times. Here are a few tips to avoid hitting a deer:
Pay extra attention at dawn and dusk. Deer are more active during those times.
Drive with caution when you are in a deer-crossing zone.
Look for other deer if you see a deer on or near the road. Deer seldom run alone.
Use your high-beam headlights for better visibility.
If you see a deer near your vehicle, brake firmly and do not swerve – you may cause an accident with another vehicle or lose control, plus it may confuse the deer so it won’t know where to run.
Slow down and blow your horn with a continuous sound to frighten the deer away.
To help avoid injury, it’s essential to always buckle up. The Insurance Information Institute reports that most people who are injured in car-deer crashes do not have on their seat belts.
If your car strikes a deer, do not touch the animal, but get your car off the road and call police. If you are in a car crash - whether it involves a deer or not - you need to have easy access to your vehicle registration, as well as your proof of insurance. To make it easier for you to have all the information you need in one place, Farm Bureau Financial Services developed an Auto Glove Box Organizer.
The Auto Glove Box Organizer includes information about what you should do in the event of an accident and what emergency items you should routinely keep in your car, as well as a place for you to record accident information, including names and numbers of witnesses or other drivers involved in the crash.
For a free Auto Glove Box Organizer, check with your local Farm Bureau agent. Farm Bureau Financial Services is a multi-state insurance and financial services organization based in West Des Moines, Iowa. Through an exclusive agent force the affiliated companies underwrite, market and distribute a broad range of financial services products, including life insurance, annuities, property-casualty insurance products and services and more, to individuals and small businesses within a marketing territory that includes 15 states. For more information about products and services, call your local Farm Bureau office or log on to fbfs.com.
1 “Avoiding Deer/Car Collisions,” Insurance Information Institute, www.iii.org, visited Sept. 7, 2006.
Securities and services offered through registered representatives of EquiTrust Marketing Services, LLC*, 5400 University Avenue, West Des Moines, Iowa 50266, 877-860-2904, Member SIPC. Property-casualty insurance products offered through Western Agricultural Insurance Company* and Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company*/West Des Moines, IA. Life insurance & annuity products offered through Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company*/West Des Moines, IA.
*Affiliated, and companies of Farm Bureau Financial Services.
Securities and services offered through registered representatives of EquiTrust Marketing Services, LLC, + 5400 University Ave., West Des Moines, IA 50266, 877/860-2904, Member SIPC
+Affiliated, and companies of Farm Bureau Financial Services
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10/27/2006 Polly Flug
(515)225-5619, Polly.Flug@FBLFinancial.com