A new analysis of automotive accident data in Europe reveals patterns in the time of day, month and day of the week collisions with large animals occurs on the roads.
For example, drivers in Europe are most likely to hit a deer on the highway on a Sunday at night in April, the statistical analysis of accident data reveals.
Traffic accidents involving wildlife are reportedly rising across Europe, with wild boar and roe deer being the two most-hit animals. Of the 6,255 accidents involving large mammals analyzed, 63 percent of them were caused by boar and 37 by deer. This likely has to do with the season and time of day the animals are most active.
According to the data, which was analyzed by researchers at the School of Forest Engineering at the University of Vigo, accidents involving roe deer occur more frequently between April and July, particularly in April and May. "This is the season in which the young roe deer born in the previous year are expelled from the group and start to look for a new territory," said Laura Lagos, main author of the study, according to a press statement.
Accidents involving wild boar tend to occur in the cooler months between October and January. "Nights are longer during these months, and therefore the probability is higher as they are nocturnal animals," adds Lagos. In addition, in these months, which coincide with the hunting season, the beaters chase the animals away and they often cross the roads."
The number of accidents increases at the weekend, with Sunday being the day for the most accidents, due to the increase of volume in nighttime traffic.