A82: Make it Safe: A simple fence could save lives on road near Loch Ness and Inverness
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More fencing to keep deer off the A82 could save lives.
That is the message from the twin sisters of Samuel Foster, who died after his car collided with two of the animals before crashing into an oncoming vehicle.
The 18-year-old from Lochend was pronounced dead at the scene following the accident at Dochgarroch – only minutes from his home – at 10pm on February 24 last year.
His sisters Samantha and Kirsti are backing our A82: Make it Safe campaign in the hope it will help persuade investment in measures to improve the safety of the route and prevent other families enduring similar heartache.
The Courier launched the campaign last Friday after statistics showed 18 people had died on the A82 between January 2017 and summer 2019. Other people have been killed in accidents on the road since, including two last month.
Samantha (30) said: “Everything reminds us of Samuel and his loss to us as a family.
“He was a wonderful brother, and I cannot describe how much fun he brought to our lives.
“I sometimes forget he is gone and for a split second I see Samuel in my mind’s eye and it winds you. The grief hits you all over again.”
She believes there should be a deer fence at the side of the road where the accident happened.
“Samuel was driving home at about 10pm and two deer jumped out,” she said.
“There is a deer track along the side of that bit of the road and it has been an ongoing problem. The sheer impact of the deer on his old-style 1996 Renault Clio impaired his vision and he crashed into an oncoming car.”
Sensing something was wrong, Kirsti went to the scene of the accident.
“I knew there was something not right,” she said. “Samuel had nipped into town, and when I had not heard from him and there was an accident on the road, I knew in my gut that something was wrong.
“When I got to the scene of the accident, there was nothing to see. I kept asking the police if it was my brother, but in the end I just waited. Eventually someone came over and told me it was Samuel.
“There was nothing that he could have done to prevent the accident.”
Kirsti then went to see their mother Heather, who lives next door to her in Lochend.
“I had to tell her,” she said. “I couldn’t go home and wait for the police to tell my mum.
“It was the most difficult thing I have ever had to do.
“Family means everything to my mum, and I was there destroying everything.”
Kirsti said that several years ago her family put up a deer fence along part of the road near their home to help prevent accidents.
“We are small compared to all the rich landowners on the side of the loch, and we put up a deer fence to keep people safe,” she said.
“There was not one, but two deer on the road the night that Samuel died. Since he died, I have nearly been in three accidents on the A82 with deer.
“What we need is a deer fence on the hill side of the loch to make it safe on the road. If private landowners will not do it of their own accord, then pressure must be put on them to install it.”
She added: “I’m backing the A82: Make it Safe campaign because if we as a family can stop one more death, then all the work will be worthwhile.
“Unless something drastic changes, we will continue to see people in accidents or killed on the road.”
