A white-tailed deer. Insurance estimates indicate Arkansas drivers have a roughly 1 in 95 chance of hitting a deer each year. | Photo credit: James Mirakian; licensed via Pexels.com.
As temperatures drop and daylight fades earlier each evening, Arkansas drivers are entering the most dangerous time of year for deer–vehicle collisions.
National insurance and wildlife data show that fall — especially October through December — is the peak season for crashes involving deer, with millions occurring across the U.S. each year.
According to an analysis by auto insurance company State Farm, Arkansas drivers face roughly a 1-in-95 chance each year of hitting a deer. That makes Arkansas the 16th-most likely state for such an accident.
That risk becomes very real on rural highways at dusk.
Keith Stephens, chief of communications for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, has spent 25 years watching this cycle repeat itself.
“Dawn and dusk,” he said. “That’s when most of it happens.”
The reason is simple: Deer move most during low-light hours to feed, especially along the grassy edges of highways. In the fall, movement increases even more as bucks enter the rut — the breeding season — and cross roadways while searching for does.
“They’re trying to find a girlfriend,” Stephens said.
Across the country, State Farm estimates over 1.7 million animal collision insurance claims in the U.S. between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025. That equates to billions of dollars in damage. Arkansas alone holds an estimated 1 million deer within its borders, making encounters with traffic statistically high.
Yet despite how common these crashes are, Stephens said Arkansas does not maintain a centralized count of deer–vehicle collisions.
“We don’t capture that,” he said. “State police has some numbers. Insurance companies have some. But not everyone claims it.”
Older Arkansas State Police data showed around 1,400 deer crashes per year on highways alone, but researchers estimated only about one in four collisions is ever reported. If that ratio still holds today, the real number of crashes statewide could be several times higher.
According to Stephens, the most dangerous mistake drivers make is swerving.
“On rural roads, shoulders aren’t wide,” he said. “It’s easy to lose control or end up in oncoming traffic.”
Instead, he tells drivers to brake firmly and stay straight, even if impact feels unavoidable. A totaled car is safer than a head-on collision.
Another overlooked danger: deer rarely travel alone.
“If you see one cross,” he said, “there’s probably another one behind it.”
Speed also plays a role, but not in the way most people want it to.
“There’s no perfect speed,” Stephens said. “Just drive at what you’re comfortable stopping at based on what you can see.”
High beams can help drivers spot deer sooner at night, and Stephens says many deer will freeze in headlights, buying drivers valuable seconds to react.
When a crash does happen, confusion sets in fast. Stephens advises drivers to first ensure their own safety, move off the road if possible, and contact police and insurance providers. In Arkansas, drivers are allowed to take a deer that was killed in a collision, but only after notifying wildlife authorities.
National experts point to fencing, wildlife crossings and improved road design as proven solutions, but those protections remain limited across much of rural Arkansas. For now, prevention largely rests with drivers.
Because in Arkansas, at dawn and dusk, the road moves too.