DriveSmartBC

"America's highways allow people and products to travel to every corner of our nation. Along the way, these roads cut across the habitat of many native wildlife species. When these paths cross, collisions can occur, and in greater numbers than most people realize. Collisions present a real threat to human safety as well as wildlife survival.

This report from the Oregon Department of Transportation Research Unit examines the success of systems used to detect the presence of wild animals in the vicinity of highways and activate a warning light system to alert approaching drivers.

I'm not a hunter, but I have shot more deer than I ever wanted to during my career in traffic enforcement. These animals had been hit by a vehicle and were most often left at the roadside to die. When I was called it was usually by those that happened along afterward rather than the driver that hit them.

2002 collision statistics for British Columbia report 395 human injury and 5 human fatal collisions resulting from animal strikes on our highways. Over 8,000 collisions occur every year and ICBC pays out more than $20 million for the resulting insurance claims. The Ministry of Transportation pays out more than $600,000 in clean up costs.