Red deer getting knocked down

[homer]

As i do alot of travelling, I very often see roe and fallow lying at the side of the road after being hit by vehicles but hardly ever have i seen a red.
Do they have better road sense, or do people see them easier and able to avoid them?

 

[VSS]

Maybe you only travel in areas predominantly populated by roe and fallow?
I've seen plenty of dead reds by the roadside when I've been in areas where reds are.

 

[SirLoin]

I see plenty of red on the roads when Im travelling up north through Scotland

 

[Freeforester]

As i do alot of travelling, I very often see roe and fallow lying at the side of the road after being hit by vehicles but hardly ever have i seen a red.
Do they have better road sense, or do people see them easier and able to avoid them?

It does happen, be assured. The ones which are knocked down seem to be in possession of equal degree of road sense as the other species, just as the ‘road sense’ of some drivers is similarly lacking.

I see plenty of red on the roads when Im travelling up north through Scotland

Where a lot of salt is spread on roads in winter where the deer (and hares) range, you’ll find them drawn to the roadsides. Over on the Morvern/Ardnamurchan peninsulas for example the verge grass often looks torn up, where the deer try to gain trace elements via the salt.

The councils’ knowledge in these ‘cause:effect’ matters is somewhat limited.

 

[slider]

As i do alot of travelling, I very often see roe and fallow lying at the side of the road after being hit by vehicles but hardly ever have i seen a red.
Do they have better road sense, or do people see them easier and able to avoid them?

Try travelling up the A9 have counted 12 carcasses between Perth and Inverness, a few are fallow but mostly reds

 

[Heym SR20]

Red have a very much better herd knowledge than Roe. The older females know where safe places are and where is dangerous. Young remain in the herd and thus benefit from this knowledge.

Roe are not herd animals in the way that Reds are, and they don’t benefit from the collective knowledge. At this time of year youngsters are starting to get pushed away by their mothers. Mature bucks will also be pushing the youngsters out, plus also chasing youngsters out of their territories.

This all leads to lots of youngster's all over the place and not knowing where to be and hence they end up on the roads.

Add in ever increasing hunting pressure 24/7, and hunting taking out the older mature animals leaving youngsters behind, it’s hardly surprising deer are now moving into quiet and undisturbed places such as along road and motorway verges and into towns and cities. Inevitably they will end up getting

 

[Mungo]

Possibly also because if you hit a red at speed, the vehicle is badly damaged enough that you have to stop. When vehicle is recovered, carcass probably cleaned up too.

But more generally, if you drive in places with a lot of reds (like the a9) you do see plenty of dead ones.

 

[HonestJohn]

If you’re not in a prolific red area, hardly surprising, so it’s all relative. They do get hit in Scotland, but tends to be hinds IMHO, I suspect due to travelling at night in herds, and stags of course get adopted by aliens after the rut.

That said, there are almost no reds left in Scotland, so I’d expect less and less collisions