By MARTA GOUGER

mgouger@tnonline.comThey say death and taxes are the only certain things in life, but if you live in a rural area you can add hitting a deer on the road to your list.Every year the insurance company State Farm conducts a survey about the likelihood of hitting those creatures.The latest: U.S. drivers are nearly 3 percent more likely to collide with a deer than they were last year.West Virginia tops the list of states where a collision is most likely, with the odds of hitting a deer at 1 in 39.Pennsylvanians, we are second. The odds are 1 in 71.I believe if you live in this region your odds are even better. I believe that everyone who drives rural roads has a number, and that number will come up sooner or later in your lifetime.Mine came up 17 years ago this month.In fact it was the Saturday of the June race at Pocono Raceway. I had spent the day at the raceway, writing features on NASCAR drivers and fans, and then headed near dusk.I was tooling down Route 209 and came up over a hill, when suddenly a deer appeared in the middle of my lane.My lights were on low because of oncoming traffic so I didn't see it until it was too late.In just one second, I had $3,500 damage.Only one of us walked away.My brother Mike told me I was lucky. I wasn't really hurt, though I still have residual neck and shoulder pain on occasion. I would probably have that anyway at my age.As an auto body guy, Mike sees deer hits all the time and says sometimes deer bounce off the bumper and end up crashing through the roof. He's seen the damage from them landing in the back seat.My husband hit a deer on Route 895 many years ago. We weren't married then, but he often tells the story. It was before cellphones, if you can imagine, so he walked to the nearest house and asked the man who answered if he could use the phone. Ronnie was understandably shaken up. When he told the homeowner that he hit a deer with his old station wagon, the guy responded, "Oh no, was it the buck?"Funny now, but not so much then.Just last week we reported on a driver who hit one on the Northeast Extension. The deer crashed through the windshield. The occupants were covered with glass, but luckily not injured.Two more drivers swerved to avoid a deer and sure enough hit something else.Can these incidents be prevented?When I hit mine, one of my so-called friends at church was quick to point out that I should have sounded the horn because deer get blinded by the headlights. The sound helps them understand something is coming.Sounds good in theory, but when you are on the road, you might not think so quickly.What can you do when you're supposed to keep your eyes on the road and not in the woods next to you?I am obviously not an expert, but I can say be alert during times like these when deer and their little ones are more likely to be on the move.Geico tells us to watch for the rest of the gang. If a deer crosses in front of you, chances are there are more nearby.Slow down and keep an eye out for more deer darting across the road.I saw two cross right in front of me last night. So I waited. This time there weren't any more, but two would have been enough if I had been going through one second earlier.You may also spot a deer because their eyes will brightly reflect a car's headlights.In my case the deer was easy to spot: right in front of me in my lane.I also have a theory that they are attracted to new cars. But that hasn't been proven.So I guess the best advice across the board is to slow down.You never know what's up ahead.