Fall is upon us! Leaves are changing, kids are back in school. And wildlife is on the move. While we’re thinking about Halloween costumes, animals are working on their winter coats. While we’re planning Thanksgiving dinner, they’re fattening up for winter. While we’re winterizing our homes, they’re migrating to wintering areas. It’s a busy time for many wildlife species—and that means more wildlife-vehicle collisions.
Each year in the United States, there are up to two million wildlife-vehicle collisions. That number is on the rise—accidents involving wildlife now represent one out of every 20 reported motor vehicle collisions, and they occur every 26 seconds. Wildlife-vehicle collisions claim the lives of 200 Americans every year and seriously injure 29,000 more. And as increasing development leaves wildlife with less and less habitat, we can only expect the number and severity of wildlife-vehicle collisions to continue to increase.
Although wildlife-vehicle collisions impact a wide variety of animals, deer continue to be the victim of most accidents. Deer are crepuscular, meaning that they are active at dawn and dusk, just when we are driving to work or picking the kids up from band practice. (So it’s not surprising that most accidents involving deer happen between 5 and 8 a.m. and 5 to 10 p.m.) Because of all the mating, moving and migrating, the majority of deer-vehicle collisions happen from October to December. That’s why Defenders’ Watch Out for Wildlife Awareness Week falls each year in September—to remind drivers to slow down behind the wheel, be alert and watch out for wildlife before the roads start getting busy.
Fortunately, we aren’t the only ones taking action! To date, 21 governors have officially declared Watch Out for Wildlife Awareness week in their states. Wildlife crossings – special structures that allow animals to safely cross under or over a road – have been built in several states and are in the works in many more. And thanks in part to our members in Colorado, the state legislature passed a bill to designate wildlife crossing zones on highways where speed limits are reduced and speeding fines are doubled, similar to construction zones. Progress!
Learn more:
Stay tuned to our blog all week for more Watch Out for Wildlife posts. We’ll be talking more about the growing wildlife-vehicle collision epidemic, the progress we’re making through our Habitat and Highways program and more about what you can do to make our highways safer for wildlife and the people who defend them.
Tell us your story:
Have you been involved in a wildlife-vehicle collision? Tell us about it! Send your stories (and photos!) to highways@defenders.org. Your story might be featured in Friday’s blog post!
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