Drivers are being warned to look out for deer wandering onto roads and motorways, particularly during May.
Road accidents involving deer peak at this time of year, as young deer disperse and increasingly cross major roads to look for their own territories.
Scotland TranServ has identified hot spots including the A82 between Renton and Dumbarton.
Dr Jochen Langbein, who oversees the Deer Vehicle Collisions Project, said:“In Scotland, as in the rest of the UK and many other European countries, deer populations have expanded significantly over recent decades especially in the lowland areas.
“Many people think most accidents with deer and vehicles occur on more remote Highland roads, but in Scotland at least 40% occur on A-class trunk roads or motorways, including across much of South West Scotland’s road network.”
There is no system for the central collation of road traffic accidents involving deer in the UK, however figures collated from a number of studies suggest that while it is safe to say 40,000 deer are killed in vehicle strikes every year, this figure could be as high as 70,000 across Britain as a whole.
And conservative estimates of 400 injuries to vehicle passengers related to these collisions could well be nearer 1000 annually.
It is estimated that in Scotland the figure could be as high as 9,000 collisions per year, resulting in anywhere between 50 and 100 human injuries, with the total cost of material damage and injury thought to be around £9.5m.
Tommy Docherty, Scotland TranServ’s network control centre manager added: “Our teams are particularly busy at this time of year, tackling the aftermath of deer collisions; not only the loss of life of this beautiful native animal, but the damage to cars and indeed injuries to drivers and passengers.
“Last year they recovered 163 dead deer from the trunk road network across South West Scotland.
“It can be very distressing having to attend such incidents. Their main function is to keep the road safe, but often they need to contact animal welfare experts directly for them to put the injured deer out of its misery.”
There are estimated to be around 700,000 wild deer in Scotland.
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