For anyone who has been driving for a number of years, especially in Washington State, it is kind of a rite of passage to swerve out of the way of an animal while driving. If it's in town, it's usually a cat. It could be a skunk or a porcupine in rural areas. If you're heading up to the mountains, there's the risk of hitting a deer or Sasquatch (hey, it could happen). When I lived out towards the Summitview Ext. area of Yakima, it was a daily occurrence that I would almost hit a peacock.

But how likely are you to hit an animal in Washington State? The result may surprise you. After all, I was raised with a "score system". It's a bit of dark humor, but many people in the valley see SOMETHING on the road and causally joke, "How many points?" I, thankfully, can say I never racked up a top score, at least not on purpose.

The fine folks at Stacker have ranked the states by how likely you'd be to hit an animal (while driving, not just in a fist fight, those statistics are still to come). They got their stats from reports compiled by State Farm and their Annual Animal Collision study. The numbers might be a little skewed since it's going off of insurance claims that were filed, and I don't know about you, but if a bird flies into my car, unless it breaks a window, I usually keep driving.

Giphy.com

So how did Washington rank compared to the other 49 states and Washington D.C.? Check out the following Gallery!

LOOK: Here are the states where you are most likely to hit an animal

Hitting an animal while driving is a frightening experience, and this list ranks all 50 states in order of the likelihood of such incidents happening, in addition to providing tips on how to avoid them.