I like cars and deer, but they don’t mix.

In many years of driving, I’ve only hit one deer but during mating season and hunting season, they are on the move, putting them and you in harm’s way on the highway. It’s sometimes a matter of the deer hitting you instead of the opposite.

State Farm Insurance has studied deer-car collisions over the last 15 years and has found the average damage to be $4,179 per incident. The cost to the deer is a more deadly amount!

What is the likelihood of a collision? The greatest odds are in West Virginia where you have a 1 in 43 chance, while in Hawaii it is only 1 in 6,823. In Oklahoma the odds are 1 in 195, 33rd in the country, with the most likely months being, in order, November, October, December.

Hitting a deer is not likely to injure you from the impact. There are exceptions and I know of one incident where the deer’s antler crashed through a side glass to impale the driver. Stuff happens.

The National Highway Safety Institute says, “never swerve to miss a deer or other animal.” Hard braking may lead to a rear-end collision but swerving to miss an animal or object may result in colliding with a guardrail, tree, another vehicle, or encountering a steep shoulder, resulting in roll-over.

Your comprehensive insurance should cover the damage and while it sounds like bad advice, it’s usually best to hit Bambi, apologies to Walt Disney.