You’re less likely to hit a deer while driving in Illinois than in Missouri

Illinois has managed to land “medium-risk” status for hitting a deer with a vehicle in the state.

According to State Farm, Illinois drivers have a 1 in 204 chance of hitting a deer from June of 2016 to July 1, 2017. That’s a reduced number from the 2015-2016 season, when 1 in 192 drivers had an insurance claim for hitting a deer. Missouri, a “high-risk” state, had a 1 in 112 chance in 2016-2017 season.

State farm calculated the rates based on claims made to the company and projected for the insurance industry.

The last time the Illinois Department of Natural Resources updated the number of vehicle-deer collisions was 2014, when Madison Country drivers had hit about 400 deer annually between 2009 and 2014; St. Clair County had between 200 and 300 each year. Monroe County had less than 100 such collisions in the same time frame.

More than 15,300 deer were hit by vehicles in 2016, according to Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Drivers in West Virginia were most likely to hit a deer, according to State Farm, followed by Montana, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Wisconsin.

This story was originally published October 4, 2017 at 3:05 PM with the headline "You’re less likely to hit a deer while driving in Illinois than in Missouri."