Less traffic doesn't mean safer driving

We wouldn't want to trade our traffic conditions for those in Denver, Chicago or even Omaha, but that doesn't mean rural drivers can relax.

In fact, it's that lack of traffic that can make driving hazardous.

One issue is corn -- it can block vision at rural intersections that have no stop signs or yield signs.

Eight months of the year, open intersections are no problem. We can see approaching cars, or the dust they stir up, for miles in advance.

When the corn gets tall, however, there's always a chance two vehicles will get to the intersection at the same time.

"There are so few people out driving, if you're a gambling person, the odds are it's not going to happen," said Dave Struthers, who grows corn and raises hogs near Collins, Iowa.

Yes, Iowa grows more corn than Nebraska, but we have more than our fair share.

And improving corn varieties, which thrive even when being planted closer together, can make it even harder to see approaching cars.

Any crash is a tragedy, of course, but it's especially sad when a new young driver, on his or her way to school or back from sports practice, is involved in a rural accident.

But rural driving hazards don't disappear once the corn is harvested.

In fact, November is the worst time for one of them, deer collisions, according to State Farm insurance data.

Nebraska drivers are 3.5 percent more likely to collide with a deer than they were last year, according to State Farm claims data. The odds are one in 143 that a Nebraska driver will hit a deer, compared to 1 in 169 nationally.

Using claim data and state licensed driver counts from the Federal Highway Administration, State Farm estimates the state-by-state chances any single American motorist striking a deer, elk or moose.

According to State Farm, Nebraska ranked 25th in the country for the most deer collisions. We were ranked 23rd in 2014.

* The national cost per claim average is $4,135, up 6 percent from 2014 when the average was $3,888.

* The months a driver is most likely to collide with a deer in Nebraska, mostly due to mating and hunting seasons, are, in order, November, October and June.

West Virginia was the worst state for deer collisions with one in 44 odds. Hawaii is the best, with a one in 8,765 chance your car will strike a deer. Yes, Hawaii has deer.

The national cost per claim average os $4,135, up 6 percent from 2014. In 2013, 191 deaths were the results of collisions with animals, deer being the most common, according to the Insurance Information Institute and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

For safer driving in deer country:

* Use extra caution in known deer zones.

* Always wear your seatbelt.

* At night, when there is no oncoming traffic, use high beams.

* Avoid swerving when you see a deer.

* Scan the road for deer and other danger signs.

* Do not rely on devices such as deer whistles.

Be aware that deer can appear anywhere, they're unpredictable, they move in groups, they're most likely to move in the fall, and dusk to dawn are the highest risk times.