1. Besides the number of deer the road conditions and visibility are huge factors in deer colisions. They are always hard to see at night, but when the brush and grass grow nearly out to the roadway it dosen't give us much time to react. Here in northern WI the DOT has a stupid policy to limit the amount of roadside mowing in order to protect nesting birds. We could do a much better job of making our roads safer by mowing the roadsides. I feel more confident riding in MT than WI because the visibility is much better.
2. Deer are not the only species of wildlife to contend with. We have a very high populatioin of bears where I live too. And then there are turkeys, coyotes, wolves, coons, badgers, and dogs, cattle, horses, and debris falling from trucks and trailers. Add to that the car parts like rusty mufflers, fluids, sand/gravel, pot holes . . . . . .
I've had close calls with all of the above, but only hit one deer (on a bike). Ours is a dangerous sport. I came real close to hitting a llama once - you just never know.
