Keep one eye out for deer on the road (and the other peeled for the IRS)

Driving in Minnesota is much more risky: the state ranks 12th in the nation for vehicle-deer collisions.

Star Tribune

Last update: October 10, 2008 - 9:23 AM

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Minnesota motorists are more likely to get audited by the IRS than they are to hit a deer while driving, according to a study by State Farm Insurance.

The company analyzed claims involving deer and drivers over the last six months of 2007 and the first half of this year, and data from the Federal Highway Administration; it found that Minnesota is the 12th most-likely place for such a collision.

That dropped the state two notches in the annual survey, but still left it in the "high risk" category, with the likelihood of such an accident at one for every 139 vehicles on the road. That's lower than the odds of getting audited by the IRS, which is roughly one in 100 for 2009, the insurance company said.

For the second year in a row, drivers in West Virginia had the highest odds of hitting a deer, at one in 45. Michigan came in No. 2. The least likely place for a motorist to hit a deer is Hawaii, with the probability at one in 10,962.

TIM HARLOW

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