Apple Valley Police: Don’t Veer for Deer

Deer are no longer limited to rural areas. Apple Valley has an abundance of deer living in the area. They are most often seen during dawn and dusk hours.

Officials say that when you encounter a deer while driving, it’s safer to brake and hit it rather than swerve into oncoming traffic or go off the road. In the last three years, 15 deaths were attributed to deer-vehicle crashes in the state of Minnesota. According to a new study released by State Farm, Minnesota has the seventh highest risk for deer collisions, and Minnesota motorists have a 1 in 80 chance of hitting a deer.

The likelihood of colliding with a large animal more than doubles during the months of October, November and December, during deer mating season, the study finds.

According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Minnesota saw 2,141 deer collisions in 2015, and six people died as a result. Dakota County had the most deer collisions with 158 reported in 2015. View the entire list of Minnesota deer collisions, organized by county, below.

Deer collisions in 2015, by county:

Dakota: 158
Hennepin: 146
Stearns: 133
Carver: 126
Sherburne: 111
Anoka: 88
Washington: 82
St. Louis: 74
Benton: 65
Scott: 63
Otter Tail: 52
Goodhue: 51
Douglas: 45
Mcloed: 44
Ramsey: 38
Houston: 35
Nicollet: 35
Le Sueur: 31
Beltrami: 30
Clay: 29
Crow Wing: 28
Wright: 28
Olmsted: 27
Cass: 24
Waseca: 24
Carlton: 23
Todd: 23
Aitkin: 22
Chisago: 22
Pine: 22
Blue Earth: 21
Brown: 21
Becker: 20
Winona: 20
Dodge: 19
Lincoln: 19
Morrison: 17
Nobles: 17
Sibley: 16
Wabasha: 16
Cook: 15
Itasca: 15
Mille Lacs: 15
Hubbard: 14
Isanti: 14
Lake: 14
Polk: 13
Wadena: 13
Grant: 12
Rice: 12
Wilkin: 11
Fairbault: 9
Martin: 9
Freeborn: 8
Meeker: 8
Kandiyohi: 7
Norman: 7
Kanabec: 6
Koochiching: 6
Steele: 6
Fillmore: 5
Pennington: 5
Rock: 5
Watonwan: 5
Big Stone: 4
Pipestone: 4
Traverse: 4
Clearwater: 3
Cottonwood: 3
Lyon: 3
Mower: 3
Pope: 3
Stevens: 3
Jackson: 2
Lake of the Woods: 2
Murray: 2
Redwood: 2
Renville: 2
Chippewa: 1
Mahnomen: 1
Kittson: 0
Lac Qui Parle: 0
Marshall: 0
Red Lake: 0
Swift: 0
Yellow Medicine: 0

According to State Farm, the national average cost per claim for 2015-2016 was $3,995.08, down just slightly from $4,135 in 2014-2015.

Image via Greg Gjerdingen, Flickr, used under Creative Commons