Information regarding wildlife on highways.
What should you do when a deer suddenly appears in front of your vehicle? Most drivers would instinctively try to avoid it. But what happens if your attempt to avoid the deer causes a crash?
You may have seen them, a pair of small whistles that you attach to your vehicle to scare deer away and prevent collisions with them. The intent is for the movement of your vehicle to force air through them and produce sound, or ultrasound that keeps deer off the highway and safely out of your path.
Over the 11 years ending in 2017 an average of about 5,762 wildlife collisions were noted in the Wildlife Accident Reporting System each year. The data is provided by BC's road maintenance contractors. I suspect that this number is not the entire picture as some animals are able to struggle away from the collision scene and die unnoticed. One estimate places this number at 12,000 annually.
Multi-lane highways are not wildlife viewing areas. Using them as such puts the animals, yourself, and other road users at significant risk.
I drive the Inland Island Highway every morning & evening, as I am commuting between Buckley Bay and Parksville.
Harris Wheeler was driving northbound on Highway 97 in the vicinity of the brake check at the top of the South Taylor Hill. A moose ran across the road from his left and hit the front of his truck. The moose lay on the road and Mr. Wheeler stopped a short distance away to assess the damage. He did nothing to warn others of the moose.