Coming soon to a highway, interstate or street near you: the premiere of deer rutting season. Deer on the move this fall means a higher percentage of deer-vehicle collisions, resulting in more potential damage to your fleet, increasingly expensive repairs and frustrating downtime for your drivers. Part by part, day by day, the number of this year’s deer versus truck showdowns can quickly rack up and put a serious dent in your company’s bottom line.

The deer-vehicle collision stats are startling

While deer-vehicle collisions can happen anytime throughout the year, the months of October, November and December are most prevalent, when deer are migrating and more active. U.S. drivers filed an estimated 1.8 million animal collision insurance claims in the U.S. between July 2022 and June 2023, with November being the most dangerous month for incidents. [1] And the toll on vehicle damage, economic losses and human casualties is deer-in-the-headlights startling:

• Around 2.1 million deer-vehicle collisions occur annually.
• These collisions cause more than $10 billion in economic losses
• Each year, deer collisions account for some 59,000 human injuries and 440 human deaths[2]

Your risk of colliding with a deer is higher depending on where you are in the U.S. West Virginia is the state with the highest risk of your vehicle striking a deer, followed by Missouri, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Iowa.[3]

In Iowa, drivers can face multiple factors that contribute to increased encounters with deer, according to Sgt. Alex Dinkla of the Iowa State Patrol. “Since Iowa is primarily a rural state, there is a robust deer population moving across more rural roads. When you combine that with the fact that it’s rutting season as well as harvesting season where deer are moving from field to field, motorists really need to be on the lookout.”

Dinkla, who has also served as a patrol officer during his 20+ years in law enforcement, has witnessed numerous deer-vehicle collisions, with results ranging from no damage at all to simple property damage, all the way to vehicles being totaled. And the damage doesn’t always stop with the vehicle who struck the deer. He adds, “There are incidents where the deer will be struck by a vehicle and then thrown into oncoming traffic, causing damage to even more vehicles.”

The cost of big rig repair is increasing

One in nine trucks experience a collision each year, and according to industry data compiled by PPG’s AdjustRite commercial estimating system, the cost of repairing front-end severity, which includes parts, supplies, materials, etc., is on the rise for Classes 1 through 8. Factoring for any front-end damage (left front, front, and right front), AdjustRite reported increases from 2021 to 2022, with tractor repairs rising the most with 24% to $13,317.4

Chances are a collision with a deer won’t total out a semi-truck. But it could damage the hood, body and grille, as well as more critical components, leading to extended downtime – on average two days or more – and expensive repairs. In fact, AdjustRite estimates the average labor hours for a heavy-duty truck front-end collision were:

• Body: 20.7 hours
• Frame: 12.9 hours
• Mechanical: 15.1 hours
• Paint: 12.5 hours

That’s a total of 61.2 hours if all areas need to be repaired.[4]

And the repair costs can really hit home, like it did for this driver who weighed in on thetruckersreport.com: “I have hit five deer in 15 years of driving trucks, in Nebraska, Kentucky, Georgia, Arkansas and Ohio. The one I hit in Georgia was the most devastating. It was intense – there were pieces of the truck everywhere. I had to get towed and the whole coolant system was destroyed. That was almost 10k in costs, hotels and damage.”

Downtime, towing and CSA costs are often missed

In addition to the hard costs to repair an animal strike, too often fleets don’t recognize their biggest expenses – the opportunity costs of missed days of revenue from each downed truck. According to a recent white paper from Ex-Guard, the average cost of a day of downtime for fleets is $1,200; which can take the total cost of an accident north of $50,000.

According to Ryan Holt, General Manager of Ex-Guard, fleets can feel the regulatory and contractual pinch when their towable accidents get recorded in the CSA database. “These accidents affect fleets’ status with the government, with customers and can even lead to the loss of their ability to operate. When a truck receives enough damage that it is no longer deemed roadworthy, contracts, licenses and livelihoods are at stake.”

Guard against deer collisions

Ex-Guard (https://go.ex-guard.com/deer-season-2024), the largest manufacturer of semi-truck and van grille guards in the United States and Canada, has been protecting drivers and fleets from animal strikes for more than 15 years. “We have customers that have seen an 80% decrease in their towable accidents by following a few simple steps, including the installation of Ex-Guard on their fleet. With deer season getting into full swing shortly, fleets need to act as soon as possible,” noted Holt.[5]

About Ex-Guard:

Ex-Guard Grille Guards are available at more than 1,500 dealers in North America. For more information, visit Ex-Guard.com or call (888) 902-2777.

[1]https://newsroom.statefarm.com/likelihood-of-hitting-an-animal-while-driving/

[2]https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)01615-3

[3]https://www.moneygeek.com/insurance/auto/deer-car-accidents/

[4]https://www.fleetmaintenance.com/in-the-bay/article/53058139/how-much-deer-collision-damage-costs-fleets

[5]https://go.ex-guard.com/reduce-80-hp?

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Ex-Guard and Premier Truck Group of Salt Lake City assist driver 
in getting back on the road after a tragedy was prevented.

Des Moines, IA, May 16, 2024 – in late August 2023 owner/operator Vince Fazio had a life-changing run-in with an out-of-control drunk driver.

Fazio, based in Nevada, operates for a major owner/operator carrier out of Florida. He was on one of his normal routes on Highway 93 by Wickenburg, Arizona when a drunk driver involved in an active police chase slammed into Fazio’s truck at more than 50 miles per hour. The intoxicated driver of the 6,000-lb F-150 struck the Ex-Guard and front fender.

“I honestly think I would have died if an Ex-Guard would not have been on my truck. My lower bumper was destroyed but I lived. The guard took 95% of the impact and I have the chance to work another day,” noted Fazio. “Ex-Guard prevented my truck from being totaled – saving me at least $60,000 in expenses.”

After the accident, Fazio needed some time to heal from the bumps and bruises while working through challeng

es with his insurance carrier. Because of these setbacks, he wasn’t able to get a new Ex-Guard put on his truck.

width=”179″ height=”300″ alt=”Damage from drunk driver on grille guard” class=”wp-image-48539 alignnone size-medium” />“When we saw Vince’s story and heard he wasn’t able to get a guard for his truck, we knew it was the right thing to help Vince and his family with a new Ex-Guard,” said Ex-Guard’s Head of Sales, Joel Wooten. Ex-Guard connected with Chris Fjeldsted, Parts Sales Manager at Premier Truck Group of Salt Lake City. Chris had just the right guard in stock that would fit Vince’s truck. “We have hundreds of stories of customers that have been protected by Ex-Guard. We’re glad to be able to keep another one of our customers on the road and safe,” said Fjeldsted.

The drunk driver involved in this case recently pleaded guilty, helping close this chapter of Fazio’s life. He noted, “Not only did the guard protect me, but it helped push away the F-150, keeping both vehicles from being more damaged. It does save lives!”

About Ex-Guard: Since 2009, Ex-Guard has provided fleets and owner-operators with high-quality, 100% made-in-the-USA products. Ex-Guard works every day to embody the values of Safe, Smart and Strong – helping businesses be resilient against impacts and challenges.