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Drivers are more likely to collide with deer on the roads during May than at any other time of year.
Young deer disperse from their breeding areas, and the AA has warned that reported incidents of cars hitting deer rise by 25 per cent in May. Every year, more than 100 people are killed or injured in road accidents with deer and between 40,000 and 50,000 deer are killed on British roads, which equates to about five per cent of the total deer population. Such collisions cause an estimated £11 million worth of damage to cars.
Hampshire tops the table of deer-vehicle collisions with an average of 16 incidents a year in which the driver was injured, followed by Essex and Suffolk with 14 each. Deer road-accident hotspots include the A134 in Thetford Forest and A22 in Ashdown Forest.
“Drivers who find a deer caught in their headlights face an instant and impossible dilemma: do they swerve and risk a more serious crash, or do they suffer the trauma of killing a deer and severely damage their cars?” said Andrew Howard, the AA’s head of road safety.
“Their best bet is to heed the warning signs, put up where accidents have happened or animals are known to cross, and to always drive at a speed that gives you time to react to what might suddenly appear in the road.
“Sunset to midnight and around sunrise are the busiest times for deer crossings and accidents peak in May, October and November. Though your instinct will be to swerve or brake hard to try to avoid a deer, it may be better to continue on your normal track: sudden manoeuvres can result in a loss of control, increasing the risk of hitting a tree or another vehicle.” The AA cautioned, “If you miss the deer (or any other animal), but hit something else, remember it will be very hard to prove that the deer ever existed.”
Source: The Telegraph website
