Wildlife Vehicle Collision Reduction Study

Why This Study

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

Crash Data

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

Annual WVCs Estimated by Insurance Industry

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

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

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

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

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

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

Costs Of Crashes

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

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%

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,

Long Tunnels and Long Bridges 100% effective in WVC reductions, but very expensive At least 200-300 hundred feet long, sometimes longer Allow unhindered animal movements at major connectivity points

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

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: 80-99% Several types of material are used, page-wire or cyclone fence material most common Electric fencing also possible Maintenance is a major concern

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

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

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.

What’s Next WVC training manual WVC training course