The effect of roadside land-use on the occurrence of deer vehicle collisions

Abstract

Motor vehicle collisions involving deer can have severe consequences, and a proper understanding of factors that entice deer to move onto or across mortorways is essential to take targeted measures to avoid such accidents. Based on the idea that roadside land-use factors influenced deer movement onto or across mortorways, we predicted a relationship between landscape (roadside land-use) and site (where collisions either happened or didn’t) conditionsand the incidence of sika deer vehicle collisions (DVCs) on mortorways in Co. Kildare in Ireland. Structural landscape features and other variables considered conducive to DVCs were quantified at the DVC locations and at randomly selected points along the roads. Landscape variables were assessed within a 0.4 km radius of each location. A logistic regression was applied to DVC and control site data and this analysis identified that DVCs were more likely tooccur on road segments where the distance to the nearest forest on the west side of the road was greater. This suggests that a lack of nearby cover makes it more likely that deer take risks when crossing roads. The findings can serve to identify road segments with a high risk of DVCs, allowing for preventive actions to be taken by wildlife managers and road network managers.