Road Trips and the Reality of Animal Collisions

Road trips — what can be a better way to enjoy a holiday? Get together with your family or friends, pack all your things in your SUV or a van, load up some music you like, and set off for a big adventure. Driving through highways, watching the scenery change with little towns and mountains flying by.

On the road during a road trip you notice a lot of nice and charming things. For example, those black deer or boar icons on the yellow signs on the road — you look at them and realize animals live here, it's such a nice wildlife zone. That was until I first encountered a deer suddenly crossing the mountain road while I was amidst my spirited drive at maximum allowed speed.

I was approaching the road dip before the next hill, when I suddenly noticed an oncoming driver slamming the brakes so hard he nearly started to drift. If it wasn't for his ABS system, he probably would have. Why did he do this, I thought for a fraction of a second, before I saw a giant deer rushing through the road. That's it - the picture I had in my had so many times. In my perception, the deer was twice the size of the Audi a6 station wagon in front of me, and I was completely shocked seeing it happen right in front of me.

By the time I approached the crossing point, the deer was gone in the bushes. I was slowly driving past the driver in the Audi, and as we passed in opposite directions, our eyes met. He literally said, "Dude, did you see that?" and I was like, "Yeah, man. Crazy, huh." I took off at a very moderate speed, and in my rearview mirror I still saw the guy in the Audi standing still. What a shock that must have been for him — he barely avoided the contact with the deer, which could have been a very, very bad ending for both of them. That was the moment I recalled an ad I had seen many years ago about grill guards and off-road bumpers that promised to protect the front end of a vehicle in case of a collision with a wild animal. I should definitely get one, I thought for a second.

The Research

Weeks after the road trip, this encounter kept coming up in my head and wouldn't leave me alone. I decided to research the topic to figure out if animal collisions are still a thing, or if our society has developed to the point where all the roads are protected and it's no longer that big of a problem, and what I encountered was just a rare coincidence.

Based on the data I found, according to the latest State Farm and Federal Highway Administration reports, the total annual insurance claims for animal collisions equal approximately 1.7 million between July 2024 and June 2025. Other statistics show that the average US driver has a one-in-139 chance of hitting an animal this year. Just think about it — this is not even one in 1,000 or one in 10,000. The math says that this can actually happen to any driver on the road.

So eventually I started researching how well our vehicles are equipped to withstand this kind of impact and at least stay protected.

Crumple Zones: Protection for People, Not for Cars

Luckily, thanks to multiple road safety regulations, the vehicles on the road have massive crumple zones designed to absorb any kind of impact while protecting the driver and the passengers. But crumple zones mean nothing but damage to a vehicle. So after one of these encounters, even with a smaller animal, a costly repair or a total loss of the car is almost 100% guaranteed.

Steel Bumpers: The Good

But what about those steel grill guards and off-road bumpers that we see on lifted trucks all over the country? They look like they could actually improve the protection for the vehicle. My research proved that this is only partially true, because while some of them serve as damage reducers, others are considered to be serious damage multipliers.

Let's start with the good things first. Heavy-duty steel bumpers are typically designed as a full replacement for the factory parts and are laser-cut from plate steel, bolted directly to the vehicle's frame. Obviously, they do improve the structural integrity of the vehicle. These bumpers are designed to stay rigid, and in many cases a strike at highway speed results in less damage to the vehicle's body or cooling system. Many high-end off-road bumpers, like those from ARB and Ranch Hand, are angled to push the animal down and away from the vehicle, preventing it from rolling up the hood and through the windshield.

But as you may understand, such heavy and expensive items are only available for full-size SUV and trucks like these. I've never seen one of these installed on a common minivan or a crossover. The first reason for that is certainly the weight — with a couple hundred extra pounds up front, you need some really heavy-duty front shocks to support that kind of load. The second reason is that these bumpers bolt directly to the frame of a vehicle, and as you may know, regular sedans, hatchbacks, minivans, and even crossovers are unibody construction, which means they don't even have a frame. Of course, there are dedicated bumpers and push bars for those vehicles, but they are designed to collapse and crumple when the vehicle gets hit. So the luxury of surviving a crash with an animal at high speed is only available to big SUV and truck owners.

Bull Bars and Grill Guards: The Bad

The other type of accessories I've seen advertised for front-end protection are bull bars and grill guards. But while they do provide a shield from damage in a parking lot collision, during an encounter with a wild animal they may do more harm than good.

Because they are often made of thin bolt-on tubing and attach to the radiator support rather than the frame, the force of even a small animal can cause the guard to fold backward. As a result, you won't just get a dented bumper — the guard will be pushed into the hood, headlights, and radiator, turning a minor repair into a total loss.

Conclusion

With this in mind, I can only conclude that neither me in my Honda CR-V nor that guy in his expensive Audi A6 Avant could have been protected in any way other than what was designed by the factory on our vehicles. Thanks to airbags and all the protective features, the passengers would probably be fine, but the vehicle would definitely get damaged. I hate to say it, but this is one of those situations when owning a truck does make sense.

Based on the statistics, wildlife-vehicle collisions cause roughly 200 human fatalities and 20,000 injuries registered annually in North America. Of course, it doesn't happen evenly throughout the year — the peak season is October, November, and December. These months account for 41% of annual animal-related crashes, largely due to mating and migration seasons. So if the rest of seasons are relatively safe, but given the fact I am moving to a rural area, I lean toward getting a bigger vehicle to at least feel more protected on the road.