Butler bucks trend with deer crashes
Deer-related crashes are on the minds of Western Pennsylvania motorists at this time of year — and the number of such accidents in Butler County is staggering.
The state's Department of Transportation on Monday released deer-crash data for the five counties in District 10, which includes Butler County.
The number of deer-related crashes here in 2018 is more than double the next-highest county, neighboring Armstrong County.
The report states that Butler County saw 172 deer crashes last year, while Armstrong had 64. The three other counties — Jefferson, Clarion and Indiana — had lower numbers.
The 2018 statistics show the county experienced a 27 percent increase in deer crashes over 2017. The three highest months for deer crashes in 2018 were October at 41, November at 38 and December at 19.
PennDOT officials list the breeding season, farmers harvesting the last of their crops and increased activity in the woods from hunters and outdoor enthusiasts as factors that affect deer travel patterns in the fall.
Jamie Arehart, PennDOT District 10 spokeswoman, said four fatalities have resulted from deer-related crashes in Butler County in the past five years.
She said there have been 29 to 39 deer crashes with injuries each year between 2014 and 2018 in Butler County as well.
Arehart said of the 172 deer crashes in 2018 in the county, 145 have been on state roads. Of those, 134 were on rural sections of the state roads. The remaining 25 crashes were on local roads, Arehart said.The township with the most deer-related crashes in 2018 was Cranberry, followed by Buffalo and Jackson townships.Arehart said motorists can draw their own conclusions as to why Butler County is head and shoulders above the rest in District 10, but the numbers could be related to residential and commercial growth.“Butler is a growing county,” Arehart said. “The other counties may not be growing at the rate of Butler. But that would be a guess.”Travis Lau, communications director at the state Game Commission, said Arehart's theory might not be far off the mark.Lau said while the deer population in the two large wildlife management units in Butler County have seen a “pretty sharp decline” since 2017, there could be growth-related reasons why the county's number of deer crashes is double the others.“In those areas where you have a higher population of people and most of those people are going from point A to point B in their vehicles, you're going to have deer-vehicle crashes at a higher rate,” Lau said. “In more developed areas, you have deer populations where they live among development and do quite well there.”He explained that deer can find pockets of cover in developed areas with a good availability of food, and hunting is usually not possible in those areas because of the density of structures.“When you have more vehicular traffic in an area where you have deer, you're bound to have more deer collisions,” Lau said.
One industry that sees the firsthand results of deer collisions is auto body repair.Paul McCall, general manager at Joe Pierrel Auto in Center Township, said his auto body shop repairs more than 100 vehicles per year that were involved in deer collisions.“One year, I had 30 cars sitting here at one time with deer hits,” McCall said. “I have two (vehicles) here now from the same family.”He said most deer collision damage is to headlights, bumper covers, grills, hoods, fenders, radiators and even air conditioning condensers.Most customers carry comprehensive insurance coverage, which covers repairs for deer damage, but not everyone springs for coverage that includes a rental car to drive while their vehicle is being fixed, McCall said.The annual cost for the rental car coverage, he said, is about the same as a dinner for two at a local restaurant.“People get upset if the rental car is not on their insurance,” McCall said.He said insurance adjusters do not normally visit Joe Pierrel because the business is a direct repair shop for most major insurance companies. Three Pierrel employees are certified insurance adjusters.Regarding repairs, McCall remembers one collision in which the deer hit the windshield and swung around and broke the driver's side window as well.“It gave the woman driving a little kiss on the cheek,” McCall said.Brittnee Derberry of the collision department at Baglier Buick GMC in Penn Township said about 40 percent of the small shop's work is repairing vehicles that were involved in deer collisions.She advises motorists not to clean deer hair, blood or other bodily evidence from vehicles after hitting a deer.“Don't do anything until an adjuster looks at it,” she said.Because deer collisions are so prominent in the area, Derberry has become accustomed to the more gory aspects of such a crash when vehicles arrive at the shop.“You mostly see deer hair,” she said, “and there's sometimes blood and guts on the sides of the door or the hood or bumper.”She said the shop sees about 20 deer-related repairs between September and December, when such accidents are more frequent.“Obviously, people hit deer throughout the year, but this is the most common time,” Derberry said.
PennDOT said following a few safety tips can help motorists during the fall season, when deer are most likely to leap in front of a vehicle:-Slow down and use caution, particularly near “deer crossing” signs, and increase the following distance between vehicles-Make sure young drivers are aware of increased deer movement-Be especially watchful of all wildlife during morning and evening hours-Slow down immediately if one deer crosses the road as more are likely to follow-Always wear a seat belt and never drive impaired-Obey the law that states headlights must be on when wipers are in use.If a deer is struck and injured, but not killed, motorists can call the Game Commission's Northwest Regional office in Franklin between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at 814-432-3187 or 911 after hours.Residents can report a dead deer for removal from state roads by calling PennDOT at 1-800-FIX-ROAD.
They look cute and cuddly, but the region’s white-tailed deer population can wreak havoc on vehicles of all kinds. Data compared the total number of deer-related crashes in 2018 to the data for 2017.The results reported by PennDOT in District 10 are:Butler County had 172 deer-related crashes in 2018, or a 27 percent increase from 2017. The most deer-related crashes occurred in October with 41 crashes; November with 38, and December with 19Armstrong County had 64 deer-related crashes, a 14 percent increase over 2017Jefferson County had 62 deer-related crashes, a 6 percent increase over 2017Indiana County had 61 deer-related crashes, a 5 percent increase over 2017Clarion County had 57 deer-related crashes, a 7 percent increase over 2017.
