Deer-Vehicle Crash Information Clearinghouse

STATEWIDE AND UPPER MIDWEST SUMMARY OF DEER-VEHICLE CRASH AND RELATED DATA FROM 1993 TO 2003:

Wisconsin Data

10-Year Report: | Summary | Figures | Data Table | Download Entire Report (doc) | Download Entire Report (pdf) |

This report used only a portion of the data available from Wisconsin.
To view all Wisconsin data, including the most recent data available, please CLICK HERE.

Wisconsin Data Summary
From 1993 to 2003 the average annual DVC percentage of all the crashes reported in Wisconsin was approximately 15.7 percent. The annual total number of reported DVCs decreased between 1995 and 1996 (possibly due in part to a change in the Wisconsin crash reporting minimum property damage threshold) and then remained relatively stable from 1996 to 2003. Deer are the third most commonly hit object behind striking another vehicle and striking a fixed object in Wisconsin (4). An evaluation of the Wisconsin DVC-related data showed the following general patterns:

• The annual total number of crashes reported and summarized in Wisconsin has decreased somewhat since 1995 (See Figure 1), but had an increasing trend from 1993 to 1995. The total annual number of reported crashes was greatest in 1995 at 148,864, but only 125,403 in 2001. The AVMT in Wisconsin has consistently increased during the study time period (See Figure 2).

• The annual number of DVCs reported in Wisconsin was relatively stable (with a slight increase) between 1993 and 1995 and then from 1996 to 2003 (See Figure 3). The average annual number of DVCs reported in these two time periods were 23,772 and 20,313, respectively. A 16.7 percent decrease between 1995 and 1996 could be partly due to the change in the crash reporting minimum property damage threshold in Wisconsin (See Figure 4). The percentage of total crashes represented by DVCs, however, has remained relatively stable from 1993 to 2003 (although it did decrease somewhat between 1995 and 1996). The maximum annual DVC percentage was 16.6 percent in 1994 (the DVC percentage in 2003 was slightly smaller at 16.5 percent), and the minimum annual DVC percentage was 14.6 percent in 1996.

• The annual number of fatalities due to DVCs ranged from 3 to 13 between 1993 and 2003. There was a total of 70 DVC fatalities during these 11 years. The number of injuries and fatalities due to DVCs increased from 570 in 1993 to 798 in 1994 (an increase of 40 percent), but then averaged 796 between 1994 and 2003. The annual number of DVC injuries and fatalities reported from 1994 to 2003 has only ranged from 716 to 847.

• Similar to the number of DVCs reported, the DVC rate (i.e., the number of DVCs per HMVMT) in Wisconsin was relatively stable from 1993 to 1995 and then from 1996 to 2003 (See Figure 35). The average DVC rates in these two time periods were 47.4 DVCs per HMVMT and 36.0 DVCs per HMVMT, respectively. The 18.6 percent decrease between 1995 and 1996 could be partly due to the change in the crash reporting minimum property damage threshold in Wisconsin (See Figure 6). Overall, from 1993 to 2003, the Wisconsin DVC rate peaked at 48.9 DVCs per HMVMT in 1994 and was at a minimum of 34.8 DVCs per HMVMT in 2001.

• Wisconsin also provided annual deer population estimates and carcass removal numbers from 1993 to 2003. Figure 7 shows that the annual deer population estimates have generally increased from 1,152,000 deer in 1993 to 1,663,000 deer in 2003 (an increase of 44.4 percent). The minimum deer population estimate was 1,152,000 in 1993, and the maximum 1,818,000 in 2000. The number of carcasses removed from the roadside, on the other hand, increased from 36,787 in 1993 to 47,841 in 2003. The number of carcasses removed was about 1.6 to 2.3 times the number of DVCs reported annually from 1993 to 2003. The average of this measure was 2.1.

Figures

FIGURE 1 Total crashes reported in Wisconsin (1993 to 2003).
Note: Minimum property damage reporting threshold changed from $500 to $1,000 on January 1, 1996.

 

FIGURE 2 Annual vehicle-miles-traveled in Wisconsin (1993 to 2003).

FIGURE 3 Reported deer-vehicle crashes in Wisconsin (1993 to 2003).
Note: Minimum property damage reporting threshold changed from $500 to $1,000 on January 1, 1996.

 

FIGURE 4 Percent deer-vehicle crashes in Wisconsin (1993 to 2003).
Note: Minimum property damage reporting threshold changed from $500 to $1,000 on January 1, 1996.

FIGURE 5 Number of deer-vehicle crash fatalities and injuries in Wisconsin (1993 to 2003).

 

FIGURE 6 Deer-vehicle crash rate per 100 million vehicle-miles-traveled in Wisconsin (1993 to 2003).
Note: Minimum property damage reporting threshold changed from $500 to $1,000 on January 1, 1996.

FIGURE 7 Pre-hunt deer population estimates and deer-vehicle crashes in Wisconsin (1993 to 2003).
Note: Minimum property damage reporting threshold changed from $500 to $1,000 on January 1, 1996.

FIGURE 8 Roadside carcass removals and reported deer-vehicle crashes in Wisconsin (1993 to 2003).
Note: Minimum property damage reporting threshold changed from $500 to $1,000 on January 1, 1996.

Wisconsin Data Table

This report used only a portion of the data available from Wisconsin.
To view all available Wisconsin data, please CLICK HERE.