RACQ executive manager for insurance communications Mike Sopinski said there was a significant increase in the number of collisions with cattle, kangaroos and other wildlife grazing roadside in times of drought.

``Insurers do see significant increases in crashes mainly due to younger cattle, which often have no experience with traffic and do act unpredictably,'' Mr Sopinski said.

``Irrespective of the circumstances of the crash, legislation exists in Queensland which effectively prevents any recovery [for costs associated with a collision] against the owner of the livestock.

An excess payment would be applied in hit animal claims, but your no claim bonus would not be affected.

However, RACQ insurance does look at each claim on a case by case basis.'' A Transport and Main Roads spokesperson said its preferred response to livestock on state controlled roads (in non-deliberate instances) was to liaise with livestock owners to make arrangements for animals to be relocated from the roadside for the safety of motorists and the animal.

``We have the ability to find people for deliberately allowing livestock to graze on state-controlled roads in certain circumstances, such as without a permit or on roads where no animals are allowed [ie motorways],'' the spokesperson said.

Elders Insurance states on its website that Queensland still abides by an archaic common law rule, which basically states that livestock have ``right of way'' when they are on a road.

``This means that any damage they cause to people or vehicles they come into contact with cannot be blamed on their owner,'' it states.

Laws in other states, including Victoria require owners to ensure their livestock is confined to their property.

The Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries website states: ``Livestock must be properly confined to your property.

Wandering stock can cause a nuisance to neighbours, particularly where males wander into breeding or young herds.

Even more importantly, producers need to ensure livestock do not wander onto roads where they can create a serious road safety issue.

Wandering livestock have caused fatal vehicle accidents.

Local council officers have the power to issue notices to confine stock and improve fencing where livestock are not adequately confined.

 The North West Star spoke to a man who said he saw six cattle carcasses and a calf carcass on a seven-kilometre stretch of road between Mount Isa and Clem Walton Park.

``Safety is our number one priority and we encourage all motorists to drive with caution on the road network and to always drive to road conditions,'' the TMR spokesperson said.

``Motorists are urged to report stray cattle to local government, TMR or police for safe removal/relocation can be arranged through property owners or, where appropriate, local government stock inspectors or police.''

TMR also encouraged motorists to report cattle on the road by contacting TMR on 4769 3200.