Deer and Transportation Safety
Archive of news by state: Arizona, California, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey. Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Canada, United Kingdom.
Research Sites: - DeerCrash.org California Roadkill Observation System Wildlife and Roads.org
Research
Here's why RI scientists want you to report road kill April 4, 2025 Rhode Island, WPRI.com
... “If we identify key hotspots for roadkill, we can advise the Rhode Island Department of Transportation on ways to increase successful wildlife crossings,” assistant professor Kathleen Carroll said ... Rhode Islanders can now report animals they hit or roadkill they spot through an online survey ...
MDOT looking to study wildlife crossing hotspots September 19, 2024 Michigan, UpNorthLive.com
... Over the last four years, MDOT has been tracking the number of dead deer along the sides of state highways to determine where incidents of wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) are frequent...
Another problem with daylight saving time: The time change raises your risk of hitting deer on the road September 18, 2024 New York, NewsTimes
... accident cycles are partly a function of driver behavior – they are highest when traffic is heavy, drivers are least alert and driving conditions are poorest for spotting animals... in fall, when deer-vehicle accidents are at an annual high because of deer rut, the earlier sunrise and sunset cause a significant increase in deer-vehicle accidents...
A new report recommends ways to keep Pennsylvania wildlife and drivers safe August 2, 2024 The Allegheny Front
... report was released by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee ... in 2022, 4,500 deer-related and 207 other animal-related, what they call wildlife-vehicle collisions were reported to PennDOT ...
Minnesota drivers hit thousands of deer a year. Here's where it happens most. July 7, 2024 Minneapolis Star Tribune on MSN
... The study found that about two-thirds of Minnesota deer-vehicle collisions each year happen just outside the Twin Cities, especially in the suburbs leading out to St. Cloud... three main factors... : The speed of the vehicle, the number of cars on the road and the amount of deer in the area...,
Human activities influence mule deer use of overpasses across multiple scales 2024 - The Journal of Wildlife Management
... Using remote wildlife cameras, we evaluated human and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) use and interactions at 43 overpasses along the Central Arizona Project canal in Arizona, USA, during 2 seasons (warm and cool) from February 2021 to February 2022. Mule deer exhibited spatial avoidance of human activities at overpasses ... Because human activities can influence mule deer crossings at overpasses, managers might consider minimizing human activities at crossing locations ...
Initiative seeks to mitigate wildlife collisions January 16, 2024 Oregon, The Nugget Newspaper
... "In conclusion, it appears that the wildlife crossings have provided a means of safe passage for mule deer and other wildlife that routinely cross Route 97; however, the fence and jump-out configuration may be limiting the overall effectiveness of the project," said the report's authors Western EcoSystems Technology....
Powder River/Pumpkin Buttes Mule Deer Study 2023 Prepared for: The Wyoming Game and Fish Department
... Cause of death was determined for 41 of the 65 mortalities. Vehicle collisions (26%) and disease (chronic wasting disease [CWD, 11%] and epizootic hemorrhagic disease [EHD, 8%]) accounted for nearly half of all mortality (Fig. 12). Interestingly, these main mortality sources had clear spatial patterns, where 76% (n=13) of deer-vehicle collisions occurred in the Interstate 90 study area, 71% (n=5) of CWD mortality occurred in the DeSmet/Highway 14/16 study area, and 100% (n=5) of the EHD mortality occurred in the Interstate 90 study area..,
How to decimate a mule deer herd: A case study in Wyoming December 21, 2023 WyoFile
... Death is inevitable for the mule deer that cross the interstate here in the Powder River Basin with any frequency. “... none of the animals figured it out,” said Hall Sawyer, an ecologist who studied three segments of the Powder River and Pumpkin Buttes mule deer herds for the "They tried a few times and they’re dead.”...
Minnesota researchers explore how road design can reduce deer collisions November 3, 2023 KSTP-TV
...driver speed is one of the main factors in predicting deer-vehicle collisions ... If you have that area of opening on the side of the road, deer are more visible and that makes it possible to slow down ... On average, about 1,300 car-deer crashes are reported ... each year. However, researchers found the actual number could be 10 to 20 times higher than that ...
Nevada shows commitment to getting desert wildlife across the road safely October 27, 2023 Las Vegas Sun
... Nevada has more than 20 wildlife crossings throughout the state, including under- and overpasses. And out of the 22 bridges in the United States for animals, six are in Nevada ... Simpson and her cohorts “documented a 50% decrease in mortality with each subsequent migration (of deer)” within the first few years of the wildlife crossings being opened ...
Researchers report on wildlife collisions north of Yellowstone October 12, 2023 Montana Public Radio
... the study recommends officials build more overpasses and underpasses for wildlife, new fencing and highway lighting. The researchers suggest posting new warning signs and reduced speed limits as short-term solutions ... View the full report, or a two-page summary...
Pineywoods study shows deer are homebodies for the most part October 5, 2023 Texas, Tyler Morning Telegraph
... In the Pineywoods studymost of the bucks on private property had a home range of about 600 acres... major highways, and in this case U.S. 59, were a major barrier that the deer were hesitant to cross. The same was not true for smaller roads like Farm to Markets and county roads, but that created a different issue. “We had a lot killed on the road. Maybe a quarter of them,” ...
Another problem with daylight saving time: The time change raises your risk of hitting deer on the road September 20, 2023 New York, Times Union
... In spring, when deer-vehicle accidents are at an annual low, the start of daylight saving time means a later sunrise and sunset. It results in a small decrease in deer-vehicle accidents. However, in fall, when deer-vehicle accidents are at an annual high because of deer rut, the earlier sunrise and sunset cause a significant increase in deer-vehicle accidents...
The Overlooked Danger That's Massacring Wildlife September 17, 2023 The Atlantic
... new book, Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet. Crushing turtles, severing ancient deer migration routes, isolating cougar populations—Goldfarb argues that “there may be nothing humans do that causes more misery to more wild animals than driving.” ...
New Research Sheds Light on How Artificial Lighting Can Influence Risk of Roadkill June 6, 2023 Utah State University
... Newly published research ... found that the deer tended to make their way across roads where surrounding artificial light was especially low... opens an opportunity to design interventions that better support wildlife with things like targeted placement of fences, signs to inform drivers, improved lighting and wildlife crossing structures...
Plan to address wildlife-vehicle collisions in Grant awaits funding May 31, 2023 NEw Mexico, Silver City Daily Press
... fund the design phase of the first of 11 prioritized projects. Theoretically, the U.S. 180/N.M. 90 Silver City Wildlife Corridor is the plan’s second highest priority ... Most collisions in Silver City’s hot spot — 465 out of 574 animal collisions — are with mule deer...
Assessment of Deer–Vehicle Crash Mitigation Structures on the US 33 Nelsonville, Ohio, Bypass. 2023 - Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A:Systems Systems
... The project included three wildlife underpass structures to promote habitat connectivity, 16 jump out structures to allow wildlife to exit the highway right-of-way (ROW), and 2.44-m (8-feet) tall exclusion fencing ... Approximately 43% of deer that approached the jump out structures used them to successfully exit the ROW... the incremental cost-benefit ratio of the complete installation is estimated to be 1.65 ...
Momentum grows for wildlife crossings on southwest Montana highways April 14, 2023 Montana, Bozeman Daily Chronicle
... Economists calculated that between 2008 and 2017, vehicle collisions with deer, elk and moose in Montana amounted to an estimated $87 million in associated costs, annually...
Montana State University releases reports on wildlife crossing structures March 27, 2023 Montana, Explore Big Sky
... Montana State University released 14 reports as part of a $1.2 million project to identify cost-effective solutions to animal-vehicle collisions that support habitat connectivity and wildlife conservation ... “This is the most comprehensive analysis yet of what’s working and how we can make it better,” ...
Why didn’t the caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) cross the road? The barrier effect of traffic on industrial winter roads 2023 Research Square, Canada
... Barren-ground caribou are in steep decline due to the combined effects of climate change, natural population fluctuations, and anthropogenic disturbance... Of 62 collared caribou that moved near the winter road, only 33 crossed the winter road, for a total of 100 crossing events. Caribou rarely crossed the road when any level of traffic was present ...
Researchers: Wildlife crossings critical for animals survival, proper design necessary January 12, 2023 kpax
... scientists developed a theoretical model, an equation, that could predict how long before half of the species stuck in an isolated region - such as a national park surrounded by human development ... The scientists point out that now is the time to establish wildlife migration corridors and keep them open...
Is it Safe? UCLA-led Research on Why Some Animals Fear Using Wildlife Crossings December 27, 2022 California, Sierra Sun Times
... Their study, published in the journal PLOS One, shows that these animals were less likely to use the undercrossing after they had displayed a “vigilant,” or fear-based, response to passing vehicles on the road over the crossing... wildlife managers should focus closely on animals’ perceptions of their environment when designing wildlife under- and overcrossing structures ...
'It is important for us': Why Utah developed an app to report roadkill December 11, 2022, Utah, KSL.com
... The Utah Roadkill Reporter app ... t having all of this information makes it possible to come up with solutions that eliminate collisions from happening in those areas. This could mean new fencing, underpasses, wildlife overpasses or anything else that can help avoid wildlife collisions...
Permanent daylight saving time would reduce deer-vehicle collisions - Current Biology, 2022
... Deer-vehicle collisions are 14 times more likely shortly after dark than before. Nighttime traffic and deer-vehicle collisions are more frequent during standard time. Collisions with deer increase by 16% in the week following the autumn clock change. Year-round daylight saving would reduce collisions, saving ∼$1.2 billion annually ...
Vehicle accidents involving wildlife trending up November 3, 2022 Wyoming, Powell Tribune
... A new report by The Nature Conservancy of Wyoming ... “At this rate, we are losing about 1.5% of Wyoming’s mule deer population per year in wildlife–vehicle collisions. Since the reported numbers are a substantial under-count, we may really be losing 3% or more of Wyoming’s mule deer population per year in these collisions,” the report noted...
Here's Why Minnesota Is No Longer Installing Deer Crossing Signs November 1, 2022 106.9 KROC
... The department of transportation says, "Research has shown that deer crossing warning signs do not reduce deer-vehicle crashes .... Signs that alert drivers to infrequent encounters or possible situations, such as deer crossing, children at play, or playground warning signs do not have a consistent impact on driver behavior." ...
Where do deer, bears, elk and turtles need help crossing the road in North Carolina? September 6, 2022 Raleigh News & Observer
... , the big federal infrastructure bill signed into law last fall included $350 million for projects that make it easier for animals to cross highways... the question of the moment is: Where do we need wildlife road crossings in North Carolina? This report is our answer to that question.” ...
Wildlife crossings potentially save millions of dollars annually in Washington state August 30, 2022 Washington, Phys.org
... A Washington State University economic analysis found there were 1 to 3 fewer collisions involving wildlife per mile, each year in a 10-mile radius around each wildlife crossing in the study... Deer are the animals most likely to be involved in vehicle collisions, which cost on average about $9,000 per accident. Camera traps also show that deer seem to use bridge crossings more often ..
Researchers Are Trying to Eliminate “Deer in Headlights” Auto Accidents May 24, 2022 Ohio, Field & Stream
. ... The truck was equipped with a rear-facing LED light bar designed to illuminate the full grille to make the vehicle loom larger, giving deer a better idea of what was coming versus the two blinding pinpoints of light they usually see with basic headlights... Vehicles approaching without the frontal illumination were 3.6 times more likely to have a dangerous encounter...
Oregon's new 'Watch For Wildlife' license plates to fund animal road crossing projects May 2, 2022 KATU
... The plate features a mule deer - a species native to Eastern Oregon that is in decline... money goes directly to projects aimed at providing safe passages for wildlife ...
Acoustic measurement of deer alert whistles and investigation of sika deer reaction to alert sounds played back through loudspeaker Wildlife and Human Society 9 : 7585, 2021
...The acoustic measurement of the alert whistles revealed that the basic acoustic characteristics of these whistles are similar, and it was confirmed that these whistles produce sounds of approximately 3 kHz, which are similar to deer alarm calls or sounds of approximately 17–18 kHz. However, none of the sounds could be confirmed in the measurement experiments while the vehicle was running. The investigation of the sika deer reaction to the alert whistles sounds confirmed that the sika deer provided a vigilant reaction to the sounds of approximately 3 kHz and to those of deer alert played back through a loudspeaker...
As Utah's population grows, so does its need for wildlife crossings January 18, 2022 KUER
... DWR said studies show there’s a 90% reduction in wildlife and car collisions when these types of structures are in place... “We have over 60 wildlife crossing statewide, but the majority of them go under roads and are just not as visible,” ..
Wildlife crossings, the Wyoming way January 18, 2022 Bozeman Daily Chronicle
... The Game and Fish Department’s wildlife crossing website promotes eye-catching stats: 4 percent of the state’s mule deer population is killed every year in vehicle collisions; deer need 30 seconds between vehicles to safely cross a road; 15 percent of all Wyoming vehicles crashes are with wildlife ...
Stay alert: Risk of hitting deer on Vermont highways is high with breeding season November 18, 2021 Vermont, YAHOO!News
... [Deer Killed Each Year from Vehicle Collisions]: 2016, 2,313; 483 adult males; 1,126 adult females; 310 juvenile males and 394 juvenile females.
2017: 2,246; 508 adults males; 1,067 adult females; 287 juvenile males and 384 juvenile females.
2018: 2,524; 534 adults males; 1,252 adults females; 319 juvenile males and 419 juvenile females.
2019: 2,219; 487 adults males; 1,132 adult females; 239 juvenile males and 361 juvenile females.
2020: 1,948 deer were hit and killed, including 410 adult males; 1,021 adult females; 219 juvenile males and 298 juvenile females.
Wildlife corridors report urges projects to reconnect pieces of habitat September 7, 2021 Virginia, CBS 19 News
... two such wildlife corridors near Charlottesville, one of which is near a very highly trafficked part of Interstate 64. The release says an analysis of the corridor system found that the two corridors reduced vehicle-wildlife collisions by 92 percent... The Full Report
Enhancing Existing Isolated Underpasses with Fencing Reduces Wildlife Crashes and Connects Habitat 2021, Human–Wildlife Interactions
...Our study found that the addition of wildlife fencing to certain existing isolated underpasses can be a highly cost-effective means of increasing driver safety and enhancing habitat connectivity for wildlife. The benefits from crash reduction exceeded the fencing costs in 1.8 years, and fencing resulted in an average saving of >$2.3 million per site over the 25-year lifetime of the fencing. The results add to the growing body of knowledge about effective ways we can use existing infrastructure to connect wildlife habitat and increase driver safety...
Caught on Camera: Opossums, bunnies, coyotes and deer using land bridge June 22, 2021, Texas, WOAI San Antonio
...A study of wildlife crossings by the University of Natural Resources Conservation at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, recommends crossings be a minimum of 50 meters wide (164 feet) at the base and as little as 8 meters (26 feet) at the center to encourage wildlife to use it. ...
A Covid-Era Lesson on Making Roads Safer For Wildlife June 9, 2021 Bloomberg
... a recent study published in Biological Conservation, which found the number of deer, moose, coyotes, cougars and other large wild animals killed per day on state highways in California, Idaho, Maine and Washington fell 34% between mid-March and mid-April 2020, as driving fell 71%...
A sound deterrent prevented deer intrusions at the intersection of a river and fence T Honda - Mammal Study, 2019
...Previous studies reported that sound deterrents were ineffective, but this study revealed efficacy of the sound deterrent; this disparity could be due to the use of an attractant, since most studies employed food to test deterrent effectiveness. The short-term (four-week) tests demonstrated the effectiveness of the sonic device; however, long-term tests revealed that the efficacy declined with long-term usage (habituation effect). Use of the device should be limited, i.e., for no longer than one month...
Wildlife mortality on roads and railways following highway mitigationPS Gilhooly, SE Nielsen, J Whittington, CC St. Clair - Ecosphere, 2019 [PDF]
... Our results support and extend previous work demonstrating that exclusion fencing and wildlife crossing structures reduce wildlife mortalities on the highway at this location, and provide limited evidence, for other ungulates alone, that such mitigation may increase mortality on the adjacent railway...
Effects of Hunting Activities on Deer Vehicle Collisions February 2019, Yunhe Ma, North Carolina
... an econometric analysis of the relationship between hunting activities and deer-related vehicle crashes during hunting season from year 2009 to 2016. Increases in the deer harvest increases the frequency of DVCs during hunting season. The buck population has a bigger impact on DVCs than the doe population. Harvesting deer on private lands has a smaller effect on DVC than harvesting on public hunting lands...
New study proves more wildlife-vehicle collisions occur during full moon December 1, 2017 California, Santa Cruz Sentinel
... looked through more than 77,000 reports of wildlife-vehicle collisions in New York state from 2005 to 2007... significantly more of these accidents occur during a full moon... paper ...in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation. Insurance ...
Biologist speaks on issue of deer crossings October 16, 2017 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... over 6,000 instances in which a deer was struck by a vehicle last year... “a pretty dramatic underestimate” due to the difficulty of collecting accurate data... About 4 percent of the total deer population is struck in any given year ... animal bridges and tunnels reduce crashes by 80-90 percent ...
Scale-dependent effects of landscape composition and configuration on deer-vehicle collisions and their relevance to mitigation and planning options SJ Hegland, LN Hamre - Landscape and Urban Planning, 2018
... The number of deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs) were lower when road verges contained little woody vegetation. Landscape scale composition with high proportion of open land cover also significantly reduced DVCs. Landscape configuration with farmland downhill and forest uphill increased DVCs. Road verge clearance saved money and deer...
Updates from the Transportation and Wildlife Front P Cramer, R Hamlin - Intermountain Journal of Sciences, 2017
... The results show support for the idea that the length of wildlife crossing structures is the most important structural dimension for mule deer success. Results also show a willingness of white-tailed deer to use bridged structures that are under 5 feet high to pass beneath roads. Elk are the “problem child” of wildlife crossing structures in several places, and are very hesitant to use any structures...
Electronic Deer Warning System December, 2016 Zhuo, Lu. CA San Luis Obispo - 2016
... The primary means of detecting a moving vehicle is via seismic vibration. It is known that deer can hear ultrasonic tones up to 30 KHz (inaudible to humans), so the system will create these sounds with piezoelectric buzzers. The firmware was designed to be simple to understand, with helpful abstractions provided to future programmers. This is important so that researchers are not hampered by the code and understanding the system, and can instead focus on research and parsing data. Additionally, the hardware circuitry involved with data collection and power management was created to be as power-efficient as possible so that the system will require as little maintenance as possible...
Roadkill Hot Spots on California's Highways Identified in Report June 29, 2016 UC Davis
... The 2016 report from the UC Davis Road Ecology Center pinpoints stretches of highway where wildlife-vehicle conflicts are most common. It drew largely from the thousands of volunteer scientist observations submitted into the California Roadkill Observation System, which also maintains an interactive map of the last 90 days of roadkill incidents and species throughout the state...
Pronghorn and mule deer use of underpasses and overpasses along US Highway 191 H Sawyer, PA Rodgers, T Hart - Wildlife Society Bulletin, 2016 Wyoming
... Of those highway crossings, 79% of mule deer moved under, whereas 93% of pronghorn moved over the highway ... we documented a 64–306% increase in the amount of back-and-forth movement of mule deer and pronghorn across the highway during migration periods. Such movement flexibility is presumed to improve their ability to respond to changing environmental conditions by easily accessing habitats on either side of the highway....
Lesson from the Deer Lab: The More You Hunt, the Harder You Have to Hunt May 16, 2016 Outdoor Life Magazine
...as hunter activity increased, the movement of white-tailed deer increased as well. The increase of activity in the woods disrupted and altered typical deer movements for the duration of the firearms season ... findings were later replicated by VerCautern and Hygnstrom (1998) ...
Effectiveness of short sections of wildlife fencing and crossing structures along highways in reducing wildlife–vehicle collisions and providing safe crossing …MP Huijser, ER Fairbank, W Camel-Means, J Graham… - Biological Conservation, 2016
... If the primary success parameter is to improve highway safety for humans by reducing collisions with large ungulates, the data suggest fence lengths of at least 5 km. While longer fence lengths do not necessarily guarantee higher wildlife use of underpasses as use varies greatly between locations, wildlife fencing can still improve wildlife use of an individual underpass...
Could Cattle Guards Augmented with Electrified Pavement Prevent Mule Deer and Elk Access to Highways? [PDF] JP Flower, PC Cramer, UT Logan - 2015 Utah
... Based on strong results from the feeding exclosure trial, electrified pavement appears to have potential as an effective tool to reduce ungulate access to roadways when deployed at wider dimensions. Moreover, the material may offer a mitigation option for locations unsuitable for double cattle guards and wildlife guards, such as at end points in wildlife exclusion fencing and/or across roads with annual average daily traffic of greater than 500 vehicles...
Road and traffic factors correlated to wildlife–vehicle collisions in Galicia (Spain) E Valero, J Picos, X Álvarez - Wildlife Research, 2016
... Our results showed that the daily traffic volume, the width of the road, the number of lanes and speed limit affect whether a particular road marker has a high or low density of WVC... high WVC is frequently characterised by wider lanes and shoulders, as well as gentler slopes, whereas in the sections with narrower roads and a shorter curvature radius, there are some conditions (low visibility and speed reduction) that reduce the probability of having an accident with ungulates. However, the speed at which it is possible to drive on a given road section is closely related to the occurrence of WVC. These findings emphasise the importance of including mitigation measures in the decision-making when planning and designing infrastructure...
Roadside Activity and Behavior of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) and Other Wildlife Near Unfenced Underpasses BM Donaldson, YJ Kweon, LN Lloyd - 2016
... Highway crossing attempts by deer resulted in 7.5 DVCs per year on the 1-mile highway segments adjacent to the unfenced underpasses. The findings support the installation of fencing along the roadside adjacent to existing underpasses used by deer. After the planned fence installation, the post-mitigation monitoring study may show that this low-cost form of mitigation could have a substantial impact on drivers and wildlife, particularly if implemented on a large scale...
Study to determine if wildlife bridges, tunnels effective December 2, 2015 Arizona, Tucson News Now
... The Department of Transportation is spending an estimated $11 million for an animal overpass on State Route 77 near Catalina. It will connect the wildlife corridor from the Catalinas to the Tortolitas. The study will determine its value to animals and humans ...
An Evaluation of Roadside Activity and Behavior of Deer and Black Bear to Determine Mitigation Strategies for Animal-Vehicle Collisions [PDF] BM Donaldson, YJ Kweon, LN Lloyd - 2015 Virginia
... Study recommendations include (1) the installation of fencing along the roadside adjacent to existing large underpasses, and (2) an animal advisory message on the dynamic message signs along I-64 in the Afton Mountain area. Messages should be displayed from dusk through dawn from October through November (to correspond with periods of higher deer activity and DVCs). Fencing both sides of just one underpass is expected to result in a savings in costs associated with DVCs of $501,473 over its service life. ..
GA Drivers Be On The Lookout This Fall: Deer-Vehicle Collisions September 28, 2015 Georgia, GeorgiaWildLife.com
... Recently published in the Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the study analyzed deer-vehicle collisions from 2005 to 2012 and then compared the timing of those wrecks with available conception data, deer movement information obtained from deer wearing GPS collars in Harris County and the old “rut map” from Georgia Outdoor News... The map can be found online and downloaded at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ website. “Using Deer-vehicle Collisions to Map White-Tailed Deer Breeding Activity in Georgia” can be found online [PDF] ...
How a Video Game Is Saving Wildlife From Being Run Over by Cars July 31, 2015 Florida, Yahoo News
... The picture-based signs did do slightly better than the word-based signs at reducing people’s speed and brake reaction times, which supports that hypothesis,” Grace said. “However, the word-based signs were still better than having no signs at all.” ... published Wednesday in the journal Nature Conservation, ...
UDOT considers new deer deterrent for safer roads July 17, 2015 Utah, KSL
... "When we covered up the reflectors with a white canvas bag, basically because we just wanted to neutralize the reflectors, we found that the white canvas bag worked better than the reflectors," ... 65 percent fewer deer carcasses in the areas where they put a white cloth bag over the reflectors simply as a control for their test ...
A scrap of white cloth is found to deter deer July 15, 2015 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... reflectors covered with white bags [white cotton bags] are about 65 percent more effective than reflectors with the black bags ... Apart from crossings — overpasses and underpasses — there’s nothing 65 percent effective out there.” ... the best predictors of collisions: Traffic volume and the speed limit were the most important factors relating to the nature of the road ...
Effectiveness of an acoustic wildlife warning device using natural calls to reduce the risk of train collisions with animals J Babińska-Werka, D Krauze-Gryz, M Wasilewski… - … Research Part D: Transport …, 2015
... The subject of study was the effectiveness of the UOZ-1 device – which emits the natural warning calls of animals – in protecting animals living near railway tracks... With sound signals emitted, animals escaped more often (84% vs. 68%), and their reaction to an oncoming train was 20 s faster. We found no proof that animals habituated to the warning signals ...
Context-dependent effects on spatial variation in deer-vehicle collisions AP Clevenger, M Barrueto, KE Gunson, FM Caryl… - Ecosphere, 2015
... Distance to water was an important predictor of WVCs in three of the five study areas, while other variables had modest importance in only two of the five study areas. Thus, lack of generality in factors predicting WVCs may have less to do with methodological or taxonomic differences among study areas than the large-scale, biophysical context within which the data were collected ...
FENCING: A VALUABLE TOOL FOR REDUCING WILDLIFE-VEHICLE COLLISIONS AND FUNNELLING FAUNA TO CROSSING STRUCTURES R van der Ree, JW Gagnon, DJ Smith - Handbook of Road Ecology, 2015... Fences prevent animals from accessing roads, thereby reducing the rate of wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC). Fences also funnel animals towards crossing structures,
making them an essential component of the success of this form of mitigation. Fencing can ...
USE OF REFLECTORS AND AUDITORY DETERRENTS TO PREVENT WILDLIFE–VEHICLE COLLISIONS
G D'Angelo, R van der Ree - Handbook of Road Ecology, 2015
... Roads present an unnatural and confusing environment for wildlife and humans alike. Wildlife reflectors and auditory deterrents aim to modify the behaviour of wildlife on or adjacent to the road. Reflectors are designed to redirect the light from oncoming vehicles ...
Hillsboro Airport Wildlife Hazard Management Plan [PDF] N Atwell, J Hilterbrand, C Kaffka, A Lauber, E Shore - 2015 Oregon
...Deer rarely find their way past the security fence and onto the airfield at HIO, and do not need to be dispersed if they are outside of the airfield security fence. If there is a need to remove deer from within the security fence, Airport staff may gently coax them to a place where they can exit the airfield or they will be lethally removed following the Port’s Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife permit...
How does variation in winter weather affect deer-vehicle collision rates?
DD Olson, JA Bissonette, PC Cramer, KD Bunnell…Utah, - Wildlife Biology, 2015
...We found that precipitation decreased 50% and snow depth decreased 48% between winters. In response, deer used habitats that were 16% higher in elevation and that were 213% farther from roads with high traffic volumes. Consequently, crossing rates also decreased as much as 96% on roads with high traffic volumes. Reduced crossing rates were likely responsible for much of the 75% decrease in deer—vehicle collisions that occurred during the second winter....
Study focuses on migration routes in Island Park region February 8, 2015 Idaho, Rexburg Standard Journal
... The study focused primarily on moose and elk behavior and their movements across U.S. Highway 20 ... scientists recommended six of these areas for initial targeting of mitigation measures ... such as overpass and underpass structures — which allow wildlife to cross road barriers without accessing the road surface itself. In addition, associated fencing and warning systems ...
Researchers say preventing deer-vehicle collisions costly November 27, 2014 West Vigrina, charlestondailymail.com
... from 2008 to 2012, more than 68 deer were struck by vehicles between mile markers 4.3 and 16.4 on U.S. Route 19... The report outlines several mitigation techniques, including the installation of more wildlife fencing, enhanced deer crossing signs that flash yellow when deer are near the roadway, and setting lower nighttime speed limits... report can be found online at www.njrati.org/research
Underreporting of wildlife-vehicle collisions does not hinder predictive models for large ungulates NP Snow, WF Porter, DM Williams - Biological Conservation, 2015
... Our objective was to test the sensitivity of WVC studies to underreporting using 2 species of large ungulates that experience substantial incidences of collisions but exist in different environmental settings: white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in agricultural-dominated central Illinois and moose (Alces alces) in forest-dominated western Maine, USA... Prediction estimates for both species were also reliable until high rates of underreporting occurred (⩾75%). These findings suggest that predictive models generate reliable estimates about WVCs with large ungulates unless underreporting is severe; possibly because they occur in non-random patterns (i.e., hotspots) and variability in their environment influences is low ...
