Your odds of colliding with an unsuspecting deer on the road aredown by 4.3 percent, and you can thank your fellow drivers forthat, according to a new State Farm survey.

State Farm, using its claims data and state licensed-drivercounts from the Federal Highway Administration, says the chances ofany single American motorist colliding with a deer over the next 12months is 1 in 174, down from 1 in 167 the year before. State Farmspokesperson Arlene Lester says the reason for the decline issimple: there are more cars on the road now compared to last year,and as the number of registrations goes up, the likelihood of anyone driver hitting a deer goes down. “The deer aren't doinganything differently,” she jokes.

The total number of deer collisions between July 1, 2012 andJune 30, 2013 was 1.22 million, which State Farm says is down by3.5 percent compared to the year before. The average propertydamage cost of these incidents was $3,414, up 3.3 percent from theyear before, State Farm says.

While total collisions were down this past year, State Farmnotes that, over the past five years, the total number of deercollisions has actually increased by 2 percent. Still, thelikelihood of any one driver being involved in such a collision isdown by 2.5 percent over that time due, again, to the higher numberof drivers on the road.

Following are the top five states where you are most likely tohit a deer, as well as some additional information in thesurvey.

West Virginia

For the seventh straight year, the state takes the prize for thehighest chance of any single licensed driver hitting a deer. Theodds in West Virginia show that 1 in 41 drivers can expect tocollide with a deer over the next year. This actually represents an8.3 percent improvement in the odds compared to last year.

Montana

One in 65 drivers in the state will be unlucky enough to collidewith a deer this year, the odds show. Montana is unchanged as thesecond-most-likely state for a collision compared to last year'ssurvey.

Iowa

The state moves up from fourth to third in this year's rankings.According to State Farm, a driver in Iowa has a 1 in 73 chanceof hitting a deer over the next year.

South Dakota

Dropping one spot from third to fourth, drivers in this statehave a 1 in 75 chance of hitting a deer this year, according toState Farm's survey.

Pennsylvania

At fifth, the state's ranking is unchanged from last year. Adriver in Pennsylvania has a 1 in 77 chance of hitting a deer thisyear.

According to State Farm, the five states that showed the mostnotable declines in the likelihood of a collision compared to lastyear were North Dakota (24.8 percent decline), Nebraska (22percent), South Dakota (12.6 percent), Michigan (11.4 percent) andKansas (11.3 percent decline).

The five states where a driver is least likely to collide with adeer are Florida, California, Nevada and, finally, Hawaii. At 1 in6,786, State Farm says the odds of hitting a deer in Hawaii are“approximately equal to the odds of a middle-of-the-pack NationalFootball League team running off 13 wins in a row.”

State Farm says deer collisions are most likely in November,when approximately 18 percent of all incidents occur, followed byOctober and December. Following, State Farm provides an infographicdetailing how drivers can avoid a deer collision.