More drivers are striking animals in North Carolina, report says. Here’s why
In 2019, coronavirus wasn’t an issue as North Carolina’s population continued on its upward trajectory. Cities such as Raleigh and Charlotte with budding reputations among millennials and young families saw exponential growth, causing something of a strain on the state’s infrastructure.
That’s what made it a particularly bad year for deer, according to state officials.
The number of car crashes involving animals across the state spiked in 2019 compared to the year prior, the N.C. Department of Transportation said in a new report. October, November and December are historically the worst months for those accidents.
“The increase can in part be attributed to the growth the state continues to have, with more drivers on the road and more development,” the N.C. DOT said in a news release Monday. “That pushes animals, primarily deer, which account for about 90 percent of all animal-related crashes, into more opportunities for a dangerous encounter with vehicles.”
The transportation department releases a report on the state’s animal-related crashes every three years. In 2017, the report detailed findings from 2014 to 2016.
This year’s report looks at data spanning from 2017 to 2019.
During that time, the N.C. DOT found animal-related crashes killed five people and injured more than 2,800 others. They also caused almost $157 million in property damage.
The number of crashes had been steadily declining from 2013’s high of 20,337 until last year, when it jumped back up to 20,331, according to the DOT.
That’s an increase of more than 2,300 compared to the 17,989 cases in 2018.
County rankings
There is one county in North Carolina where the number of animal-related car crashes far outpaces the rest. It’s the same place that has led the state in such collisions for 17 years running: Wake County.
According to the report, Wake had 1,023 car crashes involving wildlife in 2019. That’s 245 more crashes than 2018 “and its highest total since 2013,” the N.C. DOT said.
From 2017 to 2019, at least one Wake County resident has died and 137 others were injured in those crashes, which caused roughly $7.3 million in damage.
The county with the next-highest number of crashes in 2019— Guilford, home to Greensboro and High Point — had 649, according to the report.
Mecklenburg County was ranked sixth with 498 animal-related collisions, Orange County was 29th with 261, and Durham County was 36th with 215.
Western North Carolina, home to some of the state’s least populated counties, had the fewest number of crashes, the N.C. DOT said.
Along the outer reaches of the state line, Mitchell, Swain and Graham counties rounded out the bottom three for the least number of collisions involving animals with a total of 18, 9 and 5 crashes, respectively, according to the report.
2020 data
The coronavirus pandemic forced people off the roads and into their homes, meaning the number of North Carolinians driving ground to a halt for the better part of 2020.
Statewide data for the year is not yet available, and the transportation department did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for information regarding how the pandemic will affect 2020’s data.
But preliminary figures on a nationwide scale show a huge dip in the number of roadkill.
A study by the University of California, Davis, in June found fewer animals were killed in roadway collisions during the first few months of the year when many states enacted stay-at-home orders to help quell the spread of COVID-19.
From early March to mid-April, roadkill incidents fell by 21% in California, Idaho and Maine, McClatchy News previously reported.
“I don’t want to make light of how terrible the pandemic is, but it is really cool to see this sort of more positive outcome from it,” Tricia Nguyen told NPR. Nguyen is an undergraduate and intern at the Road Ecology Center at UC Davis who helped work on the study, according to the radio station.
Tips for staying safe
Car crashes involving animals happen more frequently from 6 p.m. to midnight, according to the N.C. DOT.
“With the end of daylight savings time at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, the time shift increases the chance of deer being by roadways when drivers are traveling in the dark, especially for their evening commute,” transportation officials said.
To stay safe in the event of a crash or to help prevent one, the DOT recommends North Carolina drivers:
- Always wear a seat belt to avoid injury
- Keep a safe distance between your car and other drivers, particularly at night.
- Look out for deer crossing signs in wooded areas and slow down accordingly.
- Be vigilant at bridges, overpasses, railroad tracks, streams and ditches where deer are likely to travel.
- Drive with your high beams on when possible.
- Know that deer travel in groups. If you see one, there are likely more nearby.
- Slow down and blow your horn “with one long blast” if you see a deer.
- Don’t swerve if a deer jumps out in front of your car.
- Don’t touch the animal if you hit it. Get your car off the road and call 911 instead.
