1. Wildlife Vehicle Collision Reduction Study

2. Why
This
Study

3. Study Results Crash Data Impacts of Crashes Cost of Crashes
Minimization
Measures
What’s Next

4. Crash Data

5. Total WVCs and Total Crashes by Year
(Data Source: GES)
(Data Source: GES)

6. Annual WVCs Estimated by Insurance Industry

7. Monthly Distribution of WVCs
0.25
FARS
HSIS
GES
0.2
Proportion of Collisions
0.15
0.1
For some species, there are clearly certain times of the year when WVCs occur more frequently. For large mammals, numerous studies have shown that WVCs occur more frequently in the fall (e.g., October and November) and in the spring (May-June). The peak in the spring is generally not as high as that in the fall. The fall peak is typically explained due to mating season, migration and hunting season, all of which cause animals to move around more. The spring peak is explained by distribution of young and migration.
0.05
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC

8. Time-of-Day Distribution
GES
0.12
HSIS
FARS
0.1
Proportion of Collisions
0.08
0.06
0.04
The three data sources all show the expected peaks at early morning and evening. Wildlife, especially deer, typically move around more at dusk and dawn. Data Source: FARS, GES, HSIS)
0.02 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Hour of Day

9. WVCs by Number of Lanes 2 Number of Lanes WVC ALL Percent of Accidents
100%
WVC
ALL
80%
Percent of Accidents
60%
40%
For the GES records with number of lanes and facility types, 89.7% of WVCs occurred on two-lane roads. In comparison, 52% of all crashes occur on two-lane roads
20% 0% 2 1 3 4 5 6 7
Number of Lanes

10. Crashes by Average Daily Traffic
0.7
WVC
ALL
0.6
0.5
0.4
Proportion of Collisions
0.3
WVCs are more likely to occur on low volume roads. Almost half of WVCs in the HSIS states occurred on roadways with less than 5,000 average annual daily traffic (AADT). (Data Source: HSIS)
0.2
0.1
1 to
5001-
10,001-
15,001-
20,001-
25,001-
30,001-
>35,000
5000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
ADT

11. Age Distribution for All Crashes and WVCs
0.5
0.4
All
WVC
0.3
Proportion of Collisions
0.2
The interesting finding with WVC crashes is that there is not the pronounced spike for young drivers. HSIS data is shown in this figure (the FARS and GES datasets showed the same trend).
0.1 1 11 21 31 41 51 61 71 81 91
Driver Age

12. Accident Distribution by Posted Speed Limit
0.6
ALL
0.5
WVC
0.4
Proportion of Accidents
0.3
0.2
WVCs occur less frequently on low speed roadways. The initial conclusion is, if the posted speed limit is lowered the number of WVCs will reduce. However, the high number of WVCs on 55 mph roadways is more likely a result of higher populations of wildlife on rural two-lane roadways with this design speed. For non-fatal crashes, most also occur on 55 mph roadways (Data Source: GES).
0.1 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75
Speed Limit

13. Costs Of
Crashes

14. Estimated Costs of WVC (Deer, Elk, and Moose)
Up to $8 billion annually. Injury, property damage, crash scene response and investigation.
Based on a total estimate of one million deer vehicle collisions per year in the United States, the estimate of the total cost associated with wildlife vehicle collisions is calculated to be $8,015,000,000 (per year in the United States). Note that collisions with smaller animal species (smaller than deer) and domesticated species (e.g. livestock) were not included in this calculation

15. Severity of Injury Distribution for WVCs vs. All Crashes
WVCs Only
All Collisions
0.5%
1.7%
0.5%
0.04%
4.3%
2.3%
9.4%
None
None
Possible
Possible
Minor
17.6%
Minor
Severe
Severe
GES estimates over five years for WVCs compared to all crashes. The datasets show the proportion of crashes involving human injury is much less for WVCs.
Fatal
Fatal
68.3%
95.4%

16. Minimization Measures for Reducing WVCs
Turtle mortality is never an issue on Arkansas' State Highway 440 between I-40 and US 167 across Rixey Bayou. That's because Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department maintenance crews have put up a fence along the route which keeps the Bayou's many turtles from getting onto the new six-lane interstate with its center concrete barrier wall. Installation was easy and quick. In San Diego, California, deer, foxes, coyotes, and countless small mammals have a safer crossing on 2 miles of State Route 52, thanks to "openings" along the concrete barrier dividing the eight-lane highway . Marine birds wintering in southeast Florida near Melbourne Beach fly safely over a high bridge across Sebastian Inlet at the juncture of Brevard and Indian River Counties,

17. Long Tunnels and Long Bridges
100% effective in WVC reductions, but very expensive
At least hundred feet long, sometimes longer
Allow unhindered animal movements at major connectivity points

18. Wildlife fencing along US Hwy. 93 on Flathead Indian Reservation, MT
80-99% reported reductions in WVCs
Common measure to separate wildlife from motorists
Several types of material are used, page-wire or cyclone fence material most common
Electric fencing also possible
Maintenance is a major concern
Wildlife fencing along US Hwy. 93 on Flathead Indian Reservation, MT

19. Wildlife Crossing with Fencing
87% average reduction in WVCs
Used extensively by a wide array of species Associated fencing Keeps animals off the roadFunnels animals towards the crossing Reported reductions in WVCs: %
Several types of material are used, page-wire or cyclone fence material most common
Electric fencing also possible
Maintenance is a major concern

20. Promising Mitigation Measures to be Further Investigated
2 Most Promising
Animal detection Systems
Reduce speed by traffic calming or reducing the
design speed
Systems use sensors to detect large animals that approach the road
Warning signals are activated to inform drivers a large animal may be on/near the road
Warning signals are extremely time specific – short duration
Two major types: area-cover and break-the-beam systems
82% reduction in WVCs reported in Switzerland
Other mitigation measures include Seasonal wildlife warning signs
Reduce speed by reducing the posted speed limit
Wildlife crossing guards
Large, non-standard wildlife warning signs
Reduce traffic volume on road networks
In-vehicle warnings: roadside animal detection system communicating with on-board computers
In-vehicle warnings: on-board animal detectors
Roadway lighting to increase visibility

21. Mitigation measure
Cost ($ /km /yr))
% DVC Reduction
Benefit ($ /km /yr))
Balance ($ /km /yr))
Standard warning signs
$18 0% $0
-$18
Anti-fertility treatment
$61,702
50%
$20,970
-$40,732
Long bridges
$781,250
100%
$41,940
-$739,310
Long tunnels or long bridges
$1,500,000
-$1,458,060
Animal detection systems (ADS)
$31,300
82%
$34,391
$3,091
Population culling
$2,508
$18,462
Relocation
$10,260
$10,710
Fence (incl. dig barrier)
$3,760
87%
$36,488
$32,728
Fence with gap and crosswalk
$5,585
40%
$16,776
$11,191
Fence with gap and ADS
$9,930
$24,461
Fence with underpasses
$5,860
$30,628
Fence with overpasses
$26,485
$10,003
Fence with under- and overpasses
$7,510
$28,978

22. Measures For Which Research or Construction Resources Should Not Be Used
Standard wildlife warning signs
Deer reflectors and mirrors
Audio signals in the right-of-way or deer whistles on vehicles
Olfactory repellants
Deer flagging models
Hazing
Intercept feeding
Wildlife relocation in order to reduce population size
Anti-fertility treatment in order to reduce population size
Seasonal road closures
Reflective collars placed on wildlife
Based on expert opinions of Technical Working Group. Again note the rankings were based on deer vehicle collisions. Seasonal road closures are used successfully for reducing collisions with amphibians.

23. What’s Next
WVC training manual
WVC training course