Oh Deer, Iowa Ranks No. 3 in Potential Collisions with Everyone's Favorite Four-Legged Obstacle

Here's one ranking that Iowans wouldn't mind falling in.

Iowa ranks number three on State Farm's list of states where motorists are the most likely to have a collision with a deer, with the probability that one out of 72 Iowa motorists will hit a deer in the next year. Iowa fell slightly from its old space of number two last year, which is now held by South Dakota (one out of 68).

West Virginia continues to be the number one most likely state to hit a deer, at one out of 40 motorists.

This probability was calculated by State Farm using its claims data and state licensed driver counts from the Federal Highway Administration.

October through December is the most dangerous period for deer to car collisions as white-tail deer enter into their mating season and have other things on their mind instead of watching for vehicles.

Tom Litchfield of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier that corn crops make good cover for deer, and as the harvest progresses, the deer scatter. Deer are on the move mostly at dawn and dusk, but Litchfield says they could be a problem anytime during the mating season.

So be on the look out for deer on the side of the road, especially near areas such as cornfields they could use for cover. Driving down Interstate 218 or Highway 20 could get dicey. Here are some safety tips if a collision with a deer is unavoidable.