Wildlife Vehicle Collision Reduction Study

Why this Study

Goals of the Study

What We found Out

(Data Source: State Farm Insurance) Annual WVCs Estimated by Insurance Industry

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

Monthly Distribution of WVCs (Data Source: FARS, HSIS, GES) JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC Proportion of Collisions FARSHSISGES

Time-of-Day Distribution (Data Source: FARS, GES, HSIS) Hour of Day Proportion of Collisions FARSGESHSIS

WVCs by Number of Lanes (Data Source: GES). 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Number of Lanes Percent of Accidents WVCALL

Crashes by Average Daily Traffic (Data Source: HSIS) to ,000 10, ,000 15, ,000 20, ,000 25, ,000 30, ,000 >35,000 ADT Proportion of Collisions ALLWVC

Age Distribution for All Crashes and WVCs (Data Source: HSIS) Driver Age Proportion of Collisions All WVC

Severity of Injury Distribution for WVCs vs. All Crashes (Data Source: GES). WVCs Only 1.7% 0.5% 2.3% 95.4% 0.04% None Possible Minor Severe Fatal All Collisions 68.3% 17.6% 9.4% 4.3% 0.5% None Possible Minor Severe Fatal

DESCRIPTIONDEERELKMOOSE Vehicle repair costs per collision$1,840 $3,000$4,000 Human injuries per collision$2,500$5,000$10,000 Human fatalities per collision$1,500 $6,000 $12,000 Towing, accident attendance and investigation$125$375$500 Monetary value animal per collision$2,000 $3,000$2,000 Carcass removal and disposal per collision $50$100$100 TOTAL$8,015$17,475$28,600 Estimated Costs of WVC (Deer, Elk, and Moose)

Solutions or Best Practices for Reducing WVCs

Wildlife Crossing with Fencing 87% average reduction in WVCs

Wildlife Fencing Wildlife fencing along US Hwy. 93 on Flathead Indian Reservation, MT Reported reductions in WVCs %

VERMONT ARIZONA

IN-vehicle Warning

Reduce Speed by Traffic Calming, Reducing Design Speed Speed Bumps Used to Reduce WVCs in Australia Posted Speed Roadkill per Mile Data Source: Gunther et al. 1998). Roadkill by Posted Speed Limit in Yellowstone National Park

Identification of Ineffective Measures or Practices

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

Incorporation of WVC reduction into the early stages of planning and design Develop and implement guidelines and standards for collecting and reporting WVCs Develop and implement guidelines for the evaluation of mitigation measures Evaluate effectiveness of mitigation measures Future Actions PDA-GPS prototype road kill data collector

Future Actions Make existing mitigation measures more effective Develop & apply population viability models to optimize location, type and dimensions of mitigation measures Establish national funding source for WVC reduction Technology transfer Test site for 8 different roadside animal detection systems - Lewistown, MT

Performing Organization Western Transportation Institute Montana State University P.O. Box Bozeman, MT Under Contract to: The Louis Berger Group, Inc. 30A Vreeland Road Florham Park, NJ Sponsoring Agency: Federal Highway Administration Office of Acquisition Management 400 7th St. SW HAAM-30, Room 4410 Washington DC