The Government has unveiled a new traffic sign, featuring a hedgehog, to warn road users of animal-related hazards.
Statistics show that between 2005 and 2017, 100 people were killed and more than 14,000 injured in collisions where an animal was in the road.
The small wildlife sign, which will be placed in areas where collision rates are highest, aims to ‘fill a gap’ between warnings about smaller animals, such as migratory toads and wildfowl, and large animals including deer and livestock.
Transport secretary, Chris Grayling, is calling on local authorities and animal welfare groups to come together to identify collision ‘hotspots’.
He is today (17 June) meeting with road safety stakeholders, including Brake, the AA and the RAC, and animal protection groups to discuss the scale of the problem.
Chris Grayling said: “We have some of the safest roads in the world but we are always looking at how we can make them safer. Motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users are particularly at risk.
“The new small mammal warning sign should help to reduce the number of people killed and injured, as well as helping our precious small wild mammal population to flourish.”
Strikes me as a rather prickly subject but, I get the point.
Nigel Albright, TAUNTON
+6
The smart driver looks where they’re going, is always on their guard for peds and animals and should always be ready to stop in time – no signage necessary.
Hugh Jones
+3
I would question DFTs use of statistics in this report. I doubt that small mammals were the animal type in injury collisions. More likely cattle and deer.
As a driver I would wonder what to do if I saw this new sign.
Peter Whitfield, Liverpool
+4