Motorists are advised not to swerve if an animal is in front of them on the road

The NRMA on Wednesday released its Wildlife Road Safety Report revealing the frequency of wildlife-related road accidents and reminded drivers of the safety risks of animal collisions ahead of the busy holiday period.

The report showed there were more than 900 collisions that caused injuries, ranging from minor through to fatal crashes, on NSW and ACT roads between 2015-2020.

And the strident advice to motorists from the consumer motoring arm of the NRMA if presented with a potential animal strike is: "Do not swerve".

The NRMA's Peter Khoury says drivers are encouraged to be particularly alert at dawn and dusk as this is when wildlife tends to be most active.

He said that if an animal moves in front of your vehicle, it's critical that drivers do not swerve.

"Whatever you do don't put yourself or other road users at risk with any extreme action whether that's swerving or braking hard," he said.

Data from NRMA Insurance and its parent-company IAG revealed the most notorious Local Government Areas (LGAs) for animal collisions in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, with Dubbo (689) topping the list, followed by Canberra (568) and Goulburn (479), based on claims numbers.

"It's estimated that 10 million animals die on Australian roads every year and what people might not know is that approximately 3 per cent of crashes in regional areas are the result of impact collisions with wildlife," Mr Khoury said.

"We know that driver behaviour is the single biggest contributor to motor vehicle accidents, so more focus needs to be placed on driver education around how to minimise the risk of accidents involving wildlife, particularly when driving on regional and rural roads."

Beyond vehicle damage, NRMA data analysis suggests societal costs of road trauma as a result of animal collisions are approximately $7 billion per year.

NRMA Insurance Executive Manager Motor Assessing David Wilkes said claims data showed that stretches of road and highways in regional areas pose a greater risk of animal collision compared with suburban streets, with impacts from animals typically causing damage to panels and bumpers, indicators and doors.

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