Despite the Swedish Transport Administration's investment in the road section - 160 reindeer hit

When the first signs of winter appear in the northern parts of Norrbotten, Dan Persson feels a strong uneasiness.

With the slipperiness, the salt trucks start to roll out to spread the road salt.

- I can not sleep at night out of worry about what will happen, says Dan Persson.

Rides along the road daily

For him, this means several things.

The police call at all hours of the day, after road users have driven on reindeer.

Then it's about taking care of killed animals or killing injured reindeer.

That's Dan Persson's job.

He monitors and is responsible for 50 km of the Sami village's reindeer husbandry land, year-round land, which the E10 cuts through.

He travels along the road daily, at all hours of the day, to try to scare the reindeer away from the road.

- In the autumn, I tried to get rid of two younger reindeer that I understood would go to.

I scared them away but they took a leave and got on the E10 all the time.

I did not succeed because a motorist finally drove up on them.

Reduced speed

For the second season in a row, the Swedish Transport Administration has chosen to invest in the section between Gällivare and Hakkas.

They have introduced speed reductions and warning signs for reindeer.

The signs have made it easier.

From Hakkas and south there are now about ten clean warning signs with flashing lights.

During the darkest period, the Swedish Transport Administration has also reduced the speed along the route - from 100 kilometers per hour to 70 kilometers per hour.

The measures with speed reduction combined with warning signs and flashing lights have had a great effect on how road users behave, according to the Swedish Transport Administration.

- Like so much else, speed is the big culprit in the drama, whether it is about wildlife and reindeer accidents, or other accidents on the roads, says Peter Jonsson, press communicator at the Swedish Transport Administration.

Traffic is expected to increase

But despite the changes, the Sami village has lost 160 reindeer in traffic accidents since October.

The risk of serious accidents decreases - but reindeer continue to be hit.

And at the same time, traffic density is expected to increase sharply on the E10 when the infrastructural industrial investments planned in the Ore Fields start in full scale.

It has been calculated that there will be an 80 percent increase in traffic volume.

Reindeer herder Dan Persson is worried.

- I want them to stop using the salt.

When the salt is spread out on the road, it becomes chaos, he says.