The deer is an insurance problem. The swerve is the legal one.

Michigan drivers hit 58,271 deer in 2025, and almost a third of those crashes happened in October and November, when mating season has deer on the move around dawn and dusk. It isn't only a northern problem either. Wayne County logged 698 deer crashes last year and Oakland County had 2,259, the most of any county in the state. Most of these end with a bent hood and a call to an insurer, but a few end with a ticket, points, or a claim from another driver, and the difference usually comes down to what happened in the two seconds before impact and the ten minutes after it.

Do you have to report hitting a deer in Michigan?

Usually, yes, because almost every deer crash crosses the damage threshold. MCL 257.622 requires a driver involved in an accident that injures or kills anyone, or that damages property to an apparent extent of $1,000 or more, to report it immediately to the nearest police station or officer. A modern bumper, headlight, and hood can clear $1,000 without much effort, so the practical answer is to call.

The Michigan State Police give the same advice from a different angle. Their guidance says to call the police to report the crash, stay away from the deer, and contact your insurance company, because you may need a police report number to start a claim. If the crash happens on a freeway or in the dark, the call also gets an officer there to help with the car, which matters more than the paperwork in the moment.

Is driving away after hitting a deer a crime?

Not on its own. Michigan's leave the scene statutes are written around crashes that injure a person or damage another vehicle, so a crash involving only you and a deer doesn't make you a hit and run driver. The reporting duty under 257.622 still applies when damage passes $1,000, and failing to report is a misdemeanor under the Vehicle Code's general penalty section, with up to 90 days and a $100 fine.

The exception people miss is roadside property. If you hit the deer and then a guardrail, a sign, a mailbox, or a utility pole, MCL 257.621 requires you to take reasonable steps to find the owner or report it to police. Drivers who limp a damaged car home at 6 a.m. and deal with it later sometimes find out about that statute when a road commission traces the damage back to them.

What if you swerve to miss the deer?

Then the crash stops being about the deer. The State Police are blunt about it: the most serious deer crashes happen when drivers swerve and hit another vehicle or a fixed object, or roll the car, and their advice is to brake firmly and stay in your lane. That advice is about safety, but it lines up with how the law and insurance treat the crash afterward.

Hitting a deer is a comprehensive claim under a Michigan auto policy, the same category as theft or a falling tree, and comprehensive coverage is optional. Swerving into a tree or another car is a collision claim, and under limited collision coverage the policy pays nothing if you're found more than 50 percent at fault. If you hit another car, its owner can also bring a mini tort claim against you for damage their insurance didn't cover, up to $3,000 under MCL 500.3135, and fault is weighed comparatively. Whether a swerve was reasonable depends on the facts, which is why what you say at the scene and in the report deserves care.

Does a deer crash put points on your license?

Not by itself. Points in Michigan come from convictions and civil infraction findings under MCL 257.320a, not from crashes, so a deer that runs into the side of your car doesn't touch your driving record. What can add points is a ticket written at the scene. Officers sometimes cite drivers after a crash under the basic speed law, MCL 257.627, which requires a speed that lets you stop within the assured clear distance ahead, or for careless driving, which is three points on its own.

There's a bigger catch in the points statute. A moving violation that results in an at fault collision with another vehicle, a person, or "any other object" is four points, and the civil fine goes up as well. A ticket after a deer crash is worth reading closely for that reason, and our guides to how Michigan points work and whether to fight a traffic ticket explain what paying it actually commits you to.

Can you keep a deer you hit in Michigan?

Yes, legally, if you follow the salvage rule. MCL 324.40115 lets anyone possess a deer killed in a collision with a vehicle, and gives the driver first priority to take it. To keep it, you either get a free salvage tag from the DNR online, notify the DNR or local police by phone or online, or, if you're already calling 911 about the crash, tell the dispatcher you intend to keep the deer. A tag goes on the deer as soon as it's issued and stays on until the deer is processed or delivered to a taxidermist.

Spotted fawns are excluded from the salvage rule, along with species like elk, moose, and wild turkey, a bear always needs a tag, and the DNR can suspend salvage in areas affected by disease. If you don't want the deer, the DNR doesn't remove roadkill, so the local road commission is the call to make. And don't approach an injured deer to finish it off or drag it clear. Both the State Police and the state insurance regulator warn that a wounded deer can be dangerous, and an animal that looks dead may only be stunned.

What should you do in the first ten minutes?

Get the car off the road if it's safe to drive, turn on your hazards, and call the police, even if the car looks fine. Take photos of the car, the deer, and the road while it's still light enough to see them, and write down where it happened. Then call your insurer with the report number.

If an officer writes you a ticket, take it and don't argue about it on the shoulder. A ticket after a crash is the one piece of a deer crash that can follow you, on your record and on your premiums, and it can be challenged on the facts afterward. Our traffic ticket team handles these in district courts across Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Monroe counties. The deer is an insurance problem, and with a little care in those first ten minutes, it stays one.

Quick answers

Do I have to call the police if I hit a deer in Michigan?

You must report any crash that injures someone or causes $1,000 or more in property damage under MCL 257.622, which covers most deer crashes. The Michigan State Police recommend calling either way, because insurers often need a report number.

Is hitting a deer an at fault accident in Michigan?

Hitting a deer is generally a comprehensive insurance claim, not a fault based one. Fault becomes a question when a driver swerves and hits another vehicle or object, or when a ticket is issued at the scene.

Do you get points for hitting a deer in Michigan?

No points come from the crash itself. Points only come from a ticket, and a moving violation resulting in an at fault collision is four points under MCL 257.320a.

Can I keep a deer I hit with my car in Michigan?

Yes. Under MCL 324.40115, the driver has first priority to keep it, but must get a free DNR salvage tag, notify the DNR or police, or tell the 911 dispatcher they intend to keep the deer. Spotted fawns can't be kept.

Related reading

• How the Michigan Points System Works
• Should You Fight a Traffic Ticket in Michigan?
• Reckless vs. Careless Driving in Michigan
• Traffic Tickets at D.C. Law