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Along State Route 205 en route to Colonial Beach a sign warns motorists of the threat of deer crossing the road. |
By KELLY HANNON
If only drivers could invoice a deer.
Then they could recoup the average $3,000 cost to fix a dented sedan, minivan or truck after running into a buck or doe.
More Fredericksburg-area residents are facing such a bill this fall. Deer-vehicle crashes appear to be on the rise, based on the number of vehicle owners bringing crumpled cars into Fredericksburg-area automobile body repair shops, local owners said.
"The bottom line is they're very, very aggressive this year. The hunters are even saying they're aggressive," said Milton Parrish, owner of Parrish Body Shop, located near U.S. 1 in Fredericksburg. "We're actually seeing where they're charging cars."
Downtown Garage & Auto Body on Massaponax Church Road in Spotsylvania has also received more deer-related car repairs.
Owner George Dobbs speculated there may have been just as many crashes last year, but fewer people brought their car in during 2008. People had taken such a hit to their financial portfolio, they drove around with dents, he speculated.
Whatever the reason, "Last year had kind of a dip, and this year we're seeing more," Dobbs said.
Southern Auto Body in Spotsylvania's Four-Mile Fork neighborhood has also seen a steady stream of deer-related repairs pull into its lot, spiking in October. "I think there's been an increase this year for whatever reason. It seems it correlates with hunting season starting. That seems to make them run a little more," said Olaf Herrick, owner of Southern Auto Body.
Hitting a deer can be a dangerous, scarring experience for drivers, and it can be a scarring experience for your car, too.
State Farm Insurance estimates 100,000 deer-vehicle collisions occurred every month in the U.S. between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2009. Virginia was ranked 10th in the U.S. for the highest number of crashes.
Deer collisions are most frequent in October, November and December, during deer migration and mating season, State Farm found.
The average repair bill was $3,050, an amount Fredericksburg-area auto body shops said was typical.
Of course, the repair bill can roam up or down depending on where a deer strikes your car.
"It disables a lot of cars. We see a lot of cars towed in here that are not driveable," said Southern Auto Body's Herrick. "It can easily do $3,000, $4,000, $5,000 in damage."
Smaller cars may sustain more damage than larger cars, he said, since there isn't as much to absorb the impact. "It might crumple up a little more," Herrick said.
A deer could hit just the front of a vehicle, crumpling the bumper and hood. Or, the deer could hit the bumper, then bounce along a vehicle's side, denting every side panel, said Parrish of Parrish Auto Body.
A deer could also travel underneath a vehicle, damaging the undercarriage, oxygen sensors on the exhaust system, engine shields and brake lines.
Southern Auto Body has also repaired cars damaged in crashes involving cows and horses.
"Animals can put a hurtin' on a car," Herrick said.
If you do strike a deer, drivers are advised against opening up your vehicle hood and then getting back in the car and driving away. It's a natural thing to want to do after a crash, Parrish said, but an accident can disturb the hood's latch, and if you drive afterward, it could up fly into your windshield, causing a serious accident.
Also, you could cause additional damage to your vehicle's engine just by driving the car after a crash.
Increasingly, vehicle radiators are made from plastic or aluminum, and a deer crash can create hairline cracks, Parrish said. Water may not flow through a cracked radiator properly, creating engine problems that are expensive to fix.
Parrish strongly advises having a car towed to a service station after a crash.
A customer recently brought Parrish a car with about $1,200 in damage from a deer collision, and $5,000 in engine damage from driving the vehicle for several days after the crash.
The driver's insurance company paid for the deer-related damage, but not the engine damage.
A $50 tow bill may be cheaper than risking expensive repairs, Parrish said.
At Downtown Garage & Auto Body, Dobbs said he'll get deer-vehicle repairs year-round, although they increase sharply October through December.
Since his shop is in the southern end of Spotsylvania, he said most of his customers have crashed into a deer on rural roads.
That's not the case in Northern Virginia, though, when he talks to colleagues with shops in Fairfax.
"You think you're in a city, but all of a sudden a deer shows up," Dobbs said.
Dobbs, who handles all manner of crash aftermath, tells his teenager daughters to slow down if they spot a deer in a travel lane, but never to swerve.
"The worst accident you'll have is if you hit the oak tree or another car," Dobbs said.
Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
Email: khannon@freelancestar.com
