HOW DO ANIMALS PERCEIVE THE WORLD?
People think of the road as a dangerous place, but animals don’t perceive the road as dangerous. They are actually attracted to the road, so people should expect to see animals on the road, not surprised by their presence.
There is a scientific concept which attempts to explain why animals are different from humans. “Umwelt” – is scientific term that describes how the mind interprets meaningful aspects of the world (food, water, shelter, threats). Each species has a different “umwelt”, which explains why different species behave/react in different ways.
This difference in perception is what makes animal behaviour so unpredictable.
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An animal may not recognize your vehicle as a danger
•An animal may not recognize the horn as a warning. Or,
even if it does, it may not know what the impending danger is.
•An animal may still jump in front of your vehicle, even if it sees it.
•An animal may bolt across the road at any time, even if it is standing calmly and looking away from the road
•An animal may turn and re-cross the road, even if it has just crossed over.
•Animal behaviour is related to the fight or flight reflex – if its “personal space” is violated its reaction can be very unpredictable
•During mating season animals are often on the move and again, can be highly unpredictable
•Animals often travel in groups: When you see one animal expect to see more
WILDLIFE ATTRACTION TO THE ROAD, SHOULDER, DITCH AND RIGHT OF WAY
•In the spring, new green forage first appears on the landscape in roadside ditches, and regular roadside brushing creates very palatable new growth and an easy source of food
•Roadsides are windy, so there is relief from biting insects
•Ease of travel (especially during heavy snow periods)
•Roads are located in the same valley bottoms where animal travel corridors exist
•Attracted to highway de-icing (salt based) compounds (licking on the road)
•Access to roadside “muck” or salt licks; for supplemental minerals needed during/after ungulate calving and milk production (licking on the side of the road)
•Good sight distance helps to avoid predators
•Access to roadside watering holes
•Pavement warming
WHEN DO COLLISIONS OCCUR?
Crashes can occur at any time of the day or night, and all year round, but there are peak times of the year and peak times of the day when crashes are more likely and drivers should be especially alert. High risk months are different for each species.
WHERE DO COLLISIONS OCCUR?
Although wildlife crashes can occur almost anywhere, there are some common characteristics of high risk wildlife crash locations.
•Long wide straight stretches of road
•Areas of good roadside habitat and forage near roadsides
•Where creeks and drainages intersect roads
•Water source nearby
Why would long straight stretches be high risk?
•Motorists feel safer and more confident and so speed up
•Reaction time at higher driving speeds is reduced if an animal is encountered
•At night you may tend to overdrive your headlights
HINTS FOR THE HIGHWAY - HOW CAN DRIVERS REDUCE THEIR RISK OF A WILDLIFE COLLISION?
Virtual plan
It is safer and easier to prevent a vehicle animal crash than it is to react to an actual strike. Mental preparation is a useful tool. Think of it as “An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure”. A ‘virtual plan of action” can help drivers to react calmly and instinctively when a hazard presents itself unexpectedly.
Slow Down - Buy yourself some time
Because we can’t see far enough down the road and to side to spot animals (overdrive headlights) and that we may not be able to react fast enough when we travel at highway speeds, crashes with wildlife occur more than expected on long straight stretches of road in good driving conditions
Speed:
•extends the distance required to stop safely
•increases the force of a crash
•limits driver ability to manoeuvre out of the way of an animal
Strategies
•Resist the tendency to speed up on long straight stretches of road.
•Buy yourself some time to react by driving slower
Drive Wildlife Aware
•Improve your search patterns
•Actively watch for wildlife and signs of wildlife
•If you see one animal, slow down, buy yourself some time, and expect more
•Remember high risk months and times of day
Strategies
•Improve your search patterns
•Actively watch for wildlife on the road, shoulder, ditch and right of way
•Watch out for shining eyes (remember moose are so tall, their eyes often do not catch the light)
•If you see one animal, slow down to 70 kph to buy yourself some time to react and visually scan the area, since there are likely to be other animals around. The deer you can see may not be the one that you might hit – it’s the next one coming along that might be the danger.
•Focus farther ahead and search for movement on or alongside the road
•Pay equal attention to both right and left side of the road; Anecdotally, animals that approach from the right seem to be avoided more successfully – headlights illuminate that area better
•Watch out between dusk and dawn; light levels are low and animals are active
•Be especially careful September through December when animals are in rut and are less attentive to danger
•Honk your horn to scare wildlife off the road
•Flash your headlights to scare wildlife off the road
•Think about the landscape that you are driving through; Is it good habitat for wildlife?
•Plan your trips so you are not traveling at times of the day or months of the year when animals are most active
TO SWERVE OR NOT?
Secondary crashes can occur when a driver attempts to avert an initial crash by swerving and then collides with another vehicle or object or rolls their vehicle
Serious crashes can occur when drivers lose control of their vehicles trying to avoid animals
Strategies
•Drive slowly enough so you have time to react without swerving.
•Don’t take unsafe evasive actions.
•If a smaller animal (like a deer) is in your way, consider using your brakes, not your wheel
•Consider swerving only if it’s a larger animal (like a moose). Hitting a moose carries significant risks of human fatality.
Driving at Night and in Poor Light Conditions
Driver risk is increased significantly at night and is compounded by the fact that animals are active at times of low light and darkness
Strategies
•Reduce driving speed and increase following distance – particularly in early morning, at dusk and at night around farmland, in unfamiliar and wooded areas and where animal strikes are common
•Watch for unusual spots of light, which may be the reflection of headlights off an animal’s eyes
•Watch the lights of vehicles in front and approaching you - flickering lights may indicate an animal is crossing the road
•Be cautious on days with low light – cloudy or rainy days
Use Your Vehicle
A well maintained vehicle is essential in preventing collisions and reducing damage
The driver’s ability to see far ahead and to the sides is essential in preventing and responding quickly
Strategies
•Use high beams whenever possible but not blind the drivers ahead of you
•Ensure headlights are properly aligned
•Avoid glare from oncoming headlights by focusing on the right edge of the road
•Allow vehicles behind you to pass if bothered by glare from their headlights
•Use the high beams of the vehicle in front of you to extend your effective sight distance
Keep:
•Windshield clean and free of chips
•Head lights clean and properly positioned
•Signal lights clean and working properly
Your vehicle’s ability to respond quickly and effectively is critical when attempting to stop, slow down or manoeuvre
Strategies
•Maintain vehicle brakes, suspension and steering properly
•Consider ESC* (electronic stability control) when purchasing a new vehicle
•Wear your seatbelt
* Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is an option available for purchase on many new vehicles. ESC uses a sensor to compare your intended direction of travel with your actual direction of travel. If they are different (as when heading into a skid) ESC automatically activates the antilock braking system (on one or more wheels) to correct the problem
WHAT TO DO IF A COLLISION IS INEVITABLE
How can we avoid a crash or minimize the effects of the crash with an animal?
If a Crash Is Inevitable
•Don’t look at the animal, look in the direction you want to go
•Brake firmly, try to strike at an angle
•Let up on the brake just before you hit
Strategies
•Slow down when you see an animal
•Try to determine what the animal is doing and where it is going
•If the animal is on or near the road, steer toward the area the animal is coming from, not where it is going
•Focus on the direction you want to take, not on the animal - we tend to drive where we look — if you look at the animal, you will likely hit it
•If you must hit something, aim for something that will cause the least amount of damage. (For example a small animal or shrub will cause less damage than a tree, rock or large animal)
•If you are certain to hit the animal, experts say the best thing to do is brake firmly and steer your vehicle to strike at an angle
•Striking the animal at an angle (a glancing blow) rather than straight on may result in less impact and therefore less damage
•Let up on the brake pedal just before you strike the animal. The front end of the vehicle will rise and reduce the chances of the animal coming through your windshield
WHAT TO DO IF AN ANIMAL IS HIT
When a crash with an animal could not be avoided you need to respond appropriately
After a Crash
•Pull off the road if possible
•Turn on hazard lights
•Illuminate animal with headlights, if possible
•You may choose to carefully approach the animal to determine if it is dead or injured. This is not required
•If it is injured, back off. An injured animal is very dangerous
•You may choose to move a dead animal if it is a hazard to other drivers. Only do this if it is safe and you are physically capable of doing so.
•You are not required to “put an animal out of it’s misery”
•You may not remove the dead animal for your own use unless you have a permit*.
•Check your vehicle carefully for damage - the crash may have caused damage making it unsafe to drive
*Note: All wildlife belongs to the province. The general public may not remove dead animals for their own use unless they have applied for and received a permit from the Ministry of the Environment. You may be charged under the Wildlife Act if you are in possession of wildlife without a permit.
Notify Authorities
•Call the RCMP if there is damage over $1000 or any human injuries
•Call the Conservation Officer Service if there is a dead or injured animal to report. In BC: 1.877.952.7277
•In a National Park, notify the Park Warden
•Report vehicle damage to your auto insurer
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
Insurance costs in BC
Animal crashes and damage covered under “comprehensive” not “collision” because comprehensive covers loss or damage by causes other than collision (fire, theft, vandalism, objects). It does not affect driving record. Motorists are required to report directly to ICBC when filing a claim.
OTHER STRATEGIES
Wildlife Reflectors
•Scientific studies have mixed results on whether they work
•Reflectors are prisms mounted on posts along roads to reflect headlight beams onto the road (is intended to create an “optical fence of light”)
•Animals can become accustomed to the lights and are not frightened
•Animals walk to the end of the installation and then cross the road
•Require a lot of maintenance to stay clean and in alignment
Deer Whistles (wind driven or battery operated):
Some people are convinced that deer whistles work but scientific research indicates:
•They are at the wrong frequency
•They are too quiet
•Even if the deer manages to hear the signal, they don’t recognize that danger is nearby and so they don’t react appropriately
•People may become complacent if they have deer whistles
Fencing
Wildlife fencing can eliminate almost all wildlife crashes but it:
•Impacts normal wildlife travel patterns
•Isolates populations (separates breeding pairs)
•Causes genetic isolation
•Fragments wildlife habitats
•Is expensive to build and maintain
