Your chances of hitting a deer with your vehicle in Montana are ridiculously high.

Most residents joke that it's not "if", but "when."  Everyone knows someone who proudly brags that they've never hit a deer. Then, there's the rest of us.

We were coming back from Deadmans Basin one time, in the middle of a summer afternoon and a muley slammed into the side of my buddy's pickup. Another time, I was driving at night, in the winter, on the two-lane between Columbus and Highway 212 (a notoriously deer-prone area) and slammed into a small doe that lept into the middle of the snowy road.

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Only West Virginia tops the Treasure State for most deer vs. car accidents.

According to accident data from insurance giant State Farm, Montana drivers have a 1 in 52 chance of hitting a deer; nearly twice the national average of 1 in 128. 

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1.8 million wildlife collisions last year in the US.

That figure is only for people who filed insurance claims after hitting a deer. Surely,  countless Montanas don't report their deer vs. car collisions to insurance. Maybe they drive a big farm truck with a heavy-duty bumper and the damage was minimal, perhaps they'd like to avoid an insurance claim, or maybe they're lucky enough to receive little damage from the run-in.

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Prime time deer time is coming up.

According to State Farm's findings, the most dangerous time of year for hitting a deer in Montana is (in order) November, October, and December. Their study notes the obvious, "A paved, rural road with little traffic and low light is a common scenario to hit wildlife." That's, what? 90% of Montana roads?

The report noted that other factors like speeding or being on your phone can increase your chance of a deer collision by 23%. Stay safe on the roads, Montana, and good luck dodging those deer.

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