In an earlier blog entry, I talked about the fact that here in Georgia
we are seeing an increase in the number of crashes caused by deer. I represent
drivers injured in Georgia car accidents caused by deer, and so I know
that these crashes can injure or kill people riding in cars or on motorcycles .
Every year hundreds of Georgians are injured and a number die when a deer
causes a car wreck. A deer may run directly into a car, and directly cause
a car wreck. While deer seem delicate, here in Georgia a typical buck
weighs about 200 pounds, and since they run like — well, deer —
they can hit a car hard. But even when the deer does not actually collide
with the car, the deer may indirectly cause a car wreck, if it runs onto
the road and drivers swerve to avoid hitting it. In that case, the car
may hit another car as it swerves, or the driver may run off the road
and roll over, run into a tree or guardrail, etc.
In any of these situations, the people in the car or on the motorcycle
may be seriously injured by the crash that was caused by a deer. In fact,
every year, more than 500 people get hurt when deer cause car wrecks here
in Georgia.
The Georgia DOT (also known as the GA DOT, or more formally, as the Georgia
Department of Transportation) tracks statistics on all types of car wrecks
in Georgia, including “Deer Related Crash Injuries“. Using the numbers from the chart, during the years 2000 to 2006,
we here in Georgia saw more than 5000 people get injured in wrecks caused by deer:
Year Number of personal injuries as a result of deer-related crashes in Georgia
2000 748 2001 826 2002 708 2003 719 2004 650 2005 683 2006 698 TOTAL 5032
Car wrecks caused by deer are serious, and they can be deadly. The Georgia
DOT also tracks “Deer Related Crash Fatalities” in Georgia. Here in Georgia, several people die each year in car
accidents caused by deer. These people lose their lives on Georgia roads
when a deer runs into a car, or runs into the road and forces a driver
to swerve or lose control of his car. According to the GA DOT, three people
died in deer-related car crashes in 2000. Six died in deer-caused car
wrecks in 2001, and another 7 died in 2002. Four people died from wrecks
caused by deer in 2003, and another four died in 2004. In 2005, three
people were killed when deer either hit cars or when car or motorcycle
drivers swerved to avoid a collision with the deer. Four more people died
in 2006 when a deer either ran into their cars or caused a wreck in which
they were involved. In total, in the seven-year period between 2000 and
2006, 31 people died in Georgia car accidents caused by deer.
Year Number of people killed when deer caused car crashes in Georgia
2000 3 2001 6 2002 7 2003 4 2004 4 2005 3 2006 4 TOTAL 31