The Georgia Department of Transportation (“Georgia DOT”) keeps
track of statistics related to car accidents in Georgia. It has issued
a whole report about Deer Related Crashes here in Georgia.
On average, for every 10,000 drivers in Georgia, each year 15.9 are involved
in crashed caused by deer (.159%).
Some counties, however, have far higher rates of crashes being caused by
deer. In these counties, deer are far more likely to cause an accident
by venturing onto roadways.
According to Georgia DOT’s statistics, the rate of deer-related crashes
occurring per 10,000 licensed drivers is highest in these counties:
Appling County – 48.6
Baldwin County – 108.6 Barrow County – 49.8 Bryan County –
47.2 Burke County – 162.9 Columbia County – 44.9 Effingham
County – 71.1 Elbert County – 76.9 Fayette County –
51.3 Floyd County – 40.2 Greene County – 71.0 Henry County
– 48.2 Jackson County – 45.4 Jasper County – 62.4 Jones
County – 126.3 Lumpkin County – 44.6 Madison County –
49.0 Monroe County – 94.3 Newton County – 54.5 Putnam County
– 105.4 Rockdale County – 41.4 Treutlen County – 139.4
Twiggs County – 69.9 White County – 52.3
The county with the highest rate of car crashes caused by deer in Burke
County. Burke County has a population of 23,316, and is located on Georgia’s
border with South Carolina. The area is predominantly rural, and 162.9
drivers of 10,000 – more than ten times the state average –
are involved in deer-related crashes each year.
Burke County residents and drivers are far more likely to be in deer-related
crashes than those in any other Georgia County, but Treutlen County also
had a very high average. The Treutlen County rate of car crashes caused
by deer is eight times that of the rest of the state of Georgia. Treutlen
County, population 6885, is located in middle Georgia.
Jones County is the county with the next highest rate of car accidents
caused by deer. It has nearly eight times the rate of deer-related crashes
seen in the rest of the state. Jones County has 27,740 people, and is
located in the central part of Georgia.
For every 10,000 licensed drivers in Baldwin County, 108.6 were involved
in car crashes related to deer coming onto the roadway. This rate was
nearly seven times the state average. Like Burke County, Baldwin County
is located on the border of South Carolina. 23,316 people live in Baldwin County.
Like the other counties with elevated rates of car accidents caused by
deer, Putnam County is located in central Georgia. The county has a population
of 21,251 by 2007 estimate, and its rate of crashes where deer were involved
is 105.4 per 10,000 licensed drivers, or more than 6 times the average
rate in Georgia.
Effingham County is larger than the other counties with elevated deer-caused
crash rates. It has a population of 52,250 people, and like many of the
other counties, is located near the border between Georgia and South Carolina.
The rate of deer-related car crashes in Effingham County is approximately
four and ½ times the average rate in the state.
Elbert County, population 20,166, sits on the border between South Carolina
and Georgia. For every 10,000 licensed drivers in Elbert County, 76.9
are involved in deer-caused crashes each year — nearly five times
the state average.
Greene County is located in central Georgia, and has a population of 15,994.
Per 10,000 licensed Green County drivers, 71.0 are involved in crashes
caused by deer each year.
Monroe County, another central Georgia county, has a population of 21,757,
and far more deer-caused accidents than the rest of the state. For every
10,000 licensed drivers living in Monroe County, 94.3 will be in a crash
caused by a deer each year – a figure that is nearly six times the
Georgia average.