Road sign campaign to cut seasonal surge in crashes caused by deer

A CAMPAIGN starts this weekend to help cut the number of road accidents in Scotland involving deer.

Collisions soar in late April and early May as young roe deer are out on their own for the first time searching for territories.

Scottish Natural Heritage and Transport Scotland are placing warning messages on high-risk trunk roads across Scotland from Sunday until 15 May. The signs will be put along roads that have seen high rates of deer collisions, including the M90, A9, A90, M8, M77, A80, M80, A1 and A720, covering areas around Glasgow, Cumbernauld, Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth, Dundee and Aberdeen.

It is estimated that there are more than 10,000 deer-related vehicle accidents every year in Scotland, causing about 70 human injuries and costing 5 million. Across the UK there are about 42,000 to 74,000 deer- related vehicle collisions annually, resulting in 400 to 700 human injuries and about 20 deaths, with a cost of more than 17m.