Ohio continues into peak time for deer-involved crashes.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is reminding motorists of the increase in deer-involved crashes during this time of year. Since 2019, there have been 109,507 deer-involved crashes on Ohio roadways. While 95% of deer-involved crashes only resulted in property damage, 44 crashes were fatal and
resulted in 45 deaths. Additionally, from 2019-2023, 47% of these crashes occurred in October, November and December, with 22% occurring in November alone.

The most crashes involving deer have happened in Stark (3,138), Richland (2,880),
Hancock (2,725) and Defiance (2,560) counties. Combined, these four counties accounted
for 10% of all deer-involved crashes. Additionally, more than 100 deer-involved crashes
have happened in all but one Ohio county since 2019.

Simple tips to avoid an animal collision are: scan the road ahead, use high-beam headlights
when able, be extra cautious at dawn and dusk and if a collision is unavoidable, brake –
don’t swerve to stay in your lane.

Motorists are reminded they can safely dial #677 from their mobile device to be connected
to the nearest Ohio State Highway Patrol Post during a roadway emergency.
Additional information on crash statistics can be found on the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s
Ohio Statistics and Analytics for Traffic Safety (OSTATS) Dashboard.