Last year, Michigan drivers reported 58,324 deer-involved vehicle crashes.

It was a slight year-over-year decrease, but a decade’s worth of data shows a nearly 28% increase since 2014, according to the state’s 2024 crash report compiled by Michigan State Police.

Two of the state’s largest counties -- Kent to the West and Oakland to the east -- each reported more than 2,000 deer-involved crashes last year. The next-highest total was Jackson County with 1,557.

Drivers are at the greatest risk of hitting a deer in October and November, especially at dawn or dusk.

The state classifies deer-involved crashes as those in which a vehicle made contact with a deer, or a driver caused a collision due to avoidance of a deer within the roadway.

While the majority of deer-involved crashes didn’t in

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