It was just past daybreak in Inver Grove Heights when, once again, a driver slammed into a deer that had bounded onto Hwy. 52.

The property-damage accident occurred last week near the intersection of Hwy. 55, and in the midst of the deer's fall rut.

Reports of deer-vehicle collisions spike in Minnesota each year in October and November, when bucks are pursuing does.

It's no small problem, and it can turn deadly, especially for motorcyclists.

The financial effect of deer-vehicle crashes was estimated at $33.7 million in Minnesota last year, according to the state Department of Public Safety.

Nine people were killed; seven of those were motorcyclists.

"In the last three years, 9,820 deer-vehicle crashes resulted in 18 deaths, and 16 of those were motorcyclists," said Nathan Bowie, a Public Safety spokesman.

Fatal deer-vehicle collisions are increasing, with motorcyclists accounting for at least seven out of 10 fatalities, said Pat Hahn, another Public Safety spokesman. That trend has come as motorcycle ridership has hit an all-time high, he said. The number of motorcycle riders in the state has doubled, from about 113,000 in 1997 to 225,000 now, Hahn said.

Meanwhile, the number of deer-vehicle crashes in the state dropped from 2003 through 2008, according to the latest statistics available. But Bowie and other Public Safety officials say those numbers are low, because they figure only about one out of three deer-vehicle collisions is reported.

"It appears the numbers have gone down, but because of the reporting issue, it's really difficult to put an accurate number on the real number of crashes," he said.

"No matter what the data says, the possibility of deer on the roads is real, and motorists need to be ready for it."

And, he said, "Don't veer for deer." Veering sharply is more likely to lead to a serious accident.

Worse in some areas

No 2009 deer-vehicle accident figures are available yet for the state, but local officials say it's clear the problem is worsening in some areas.

In southern Dakota County, for example, the number of deer-vehicle collisions has reached 62 this year. That is on a pace to more than double the 33 such collisions reported for all of 2003.

Dave Bellows, chief deputy for the Dakota County Sheriff's Office, said it's not only that development in the county has created more roads for the deer to cross. Without hunting in many areas, and without natural predators such as the wolves found farther north, the deer population also is flourishing in some areas, he said.

Officials assess the statewide risk by looking to the size of Minnesota's deer herd, which totaled roughly 1 million deer before this year's hunting season.

But those numbers aren't uniform throughout the state. "The deer herd overall has been moderating or decreasing in most areas of Minnesota except the metro area or southeast Minnesota," Hahn said.

Natural Resources officials have used aggressive harvesting to reduce the deer population.

Some cities such as Burnsville and Shorewood even allow bow-hunting to thin the herds.

That is not only to protect drivers but also to prevent damage deer cause to ornamental shrubbery, said Dennis Simon, wildlife section manager for the state's Department of Natural Resources.

Still, in many cities, the discharge of firearms isn't allowed, and that allows deer populations to thrive and live alongside a growing human population, Simon said.

Populations in flux

In the mid-1970s, he said, the state's human population barely topped 3.2 million. Now it is at 5.2 million people.

Any decline in the state's deer population, Simon said, is being outstripped by the growth in the number of drivers, the number of cars and the number of miles driven.

"You have a rising population and also have a high-traffic pattern, so even though, in general, the deer population in the state may be declining, you still have pockets or areas where there are significant numbers of deer-car collisions," he said.

It's not only the metro area where this happens, he said, but also around cities such as Rochester and Duluth.

Simon said drivers this holiday season should use their peripheral vision at night to scan ditches for the flash of deer eyes.

They also should watch for deer crossings, he said, and be aware that where there is one deer, there often are more nearby.

Joy Powell • 952-882-9017