1600 per year

Wildlife accidents in the fall: more and more deer affected

1600 wildlife accidents occur on average every year in Tyrol. Caution is therefore required not only, but especially in the fall.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

When it gets dark earlier in the fall, the risk of deer accidents increases. 1600 occur on Tyrol's roads every year. The Austrian Road Safety Board warns that the danger of such accidents increases due to the changing habits of wild animals and gives tips on how drivers should behave.

Eight wildlife accidents per hour - or 73,000 per year - occur on average in Austria, 1600 of them in Tyrol. The KFV warns against this. "Please be particularly vigilant in the fall due to the earlier onset of dusk, as around 47 percent of all wildlife accidents with personal injury occur in the dark, ten percent at dusk," appeals KFV Director Christian Schimanofsky.

Six fatal accidents in five years
1586 people have been injured in road accidents involving wild animals in the past five years, and six people have died. The most common causes were carelessness and distraction (54%) and excessive speed (39%).

"A swerving maneuver usually involves more risks than a possible collision," says Schimanofsky. If an animal appears on the road, he recommends: slow down, sound the horn, brake sharply and hold the steering wheel firmly. Every wildlife accident must be reported to the police. "Even if the animal escapes," explains Lower Austria's master hunter Josef Pröll. The police inform the hunters. Under no circumstances should you take an animal you have hit with you.

Two factors are decisive when it comes to the risk of wildlife accidents: how often wildlife has to cross roads and the number of road users.

Josef Pröll, Landesjägermeister von Niederösterreich

More and more deer are dying on the road
Most victims of wildlife accidents are deer (55%). The number has risen in recent years, while the number of hares killed (26%) has fallen. This also means a higher risk of injury for people behind the wheel.

Deer are increasingly involved in wildlife accidents. According to experts, a swerving maneuver is not recommended, as this is significantly riskier than a collision.

(Bild: dpa-Zentralbild/Patrick Pleul)

"The increase in roe deer is due to climate change and increasing recreational use," explains Pröll. Deer are covering ever greater distances and crossing roads in search of watery food. At the same time, recreational users are scaring off the deer. "Roe deer then often flee across roads, while small game rely on their cover."