Cars and motorcycles crash into deer

Fatal crashes caused by animals at all-time high

WASHINGTON - Cars and motorcycles crash into deer more than 4,000 times a day, and it's taking an increasingly deadly toll - on people.

Last year a record 210 motorists were killed in collisions with animals, mostly deer. That was 40 more than the previous year and more than twice the number in 1993, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

"The deer population is growing and there are more vehicles on the road every year," Allan Williams, the institute's chief scientist, said Wednesday. "There's just a lot more chance for interaction with animals on the roads."  In this area, car-deer crashes happen all over but the main concentration occurs on the area highways, said Trooper Michelle Taylor with the Michigan State Police Reed City Post.   Typically, area troopers respond to crashes on a daily basis this time of year.
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