Techniques to Monitor Road Crossings and Animal-Vehicle Collisions

Abstract

Motor vehicle accidents caused by deer and moose cause property damage and deaths each year. The most recent estimate of the number of deer-vehicle collisions across the U.S. was more than 1 million, with costs of deer-vehicle collisions nationwide are more than $3.5 billion dollars. We developed and tested a self-powered video camera observation system to monitor roadways and wildlife crossing areas. We contrast use of a video system to use of trail cameras. The data collected with this system will enable identification of animal species crossing roads, the frequency of road crossings, animal behavior on and near roads, and vehicle (human) response to potential animal dangers.