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NORFOLK, Neb. — Wendell Fossum has never hit a deer with his car.
He figures it's only a matter of time.
“I look at it this way — it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when,” Fossum said.
Fossum, who has been an agent for American Family Insurance in Norfolk for 15 years, said two to four deer-versus-car-related claims cross his desk every week. One was for a client who had driven for decades without hitting a deer, and then hit two within a matter of months.
“It seems pretty steady in our office,” he said. “The only thing you have to do is make a trip to Yankton or go to Omaha and notice the number of carcasses or spatters of blood on the road. Every last one of those, someone has trashed the front end of their car by hitting a deer.”
Statistics show that deer-related car accidents account for more than 150 human and nearly 1.5 million deer fatalities nationwide each year. Even the less-serious crashes take their toll on the pocketbook.
“Repairs are expensive; the cost of materials, labor and parts is increasing,” Fossum said. “It affects the comprehensive part of your insurance premium.”
Lt. Steve Terry of the Nebraska State Patrol said deer-related accidents need to be reported if there is more than $1,000 in damage. Law enforcement also should be called to make sure the carcass is removed from the road or to destroy the animal if it has been seriously injured.
Terry said state troopers statewide have seen a large number of deer-related accidents this fall. Based on information obtained through weekly patrol meetings, Terry estimated that roughly 60 percent of the property damage accidents that have occurred recently have involved cars hitting deer.
“Troopers hit them. Everybody hits them,” he said. “They come out of the ditch, and it's more or less hit or miss.”
Terry said the best advice he could give to avoid hitting a deer is simply for drivers to be attentive.
“If the combines are stirring up the deer,” he said, “they're going to be running for cover.”
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