Wildlife Collisions in Northern BC

Road Alert!!

October is the beginning of the high risk fall seaon for wildlife collisions in north central BC.

The following communities should be extra vigilant on the roads starting in the months listed in the tables.

Data is from Using Collision Data, GPS Technology and Expert Opinion to Develop Strategic Countermeasure Recomendations for Reducing Animal-Vehicle Collisions in Northern Britsh Columbia. 2006. Road Health-University Wildlife Collision Mitigation Research Team. Unpublished Report. Prince George, BC. 145 p.   

Back to top 

Wildlife Collision Working Group (WCWG)

The Wildlife Collision Working Group (WCWG) was formed in November 2005, as a result of the 2005 Northern Health Authority Crossroads Conference. This conference brought together many diverse agencies interested in reducing human death and injury and increasing highway safety in northern British Columbia.

WCWG Purpose

The goal of the WCWG is to develop and implement a strategy to reduce the number of vehicle collisions with wildlife in northern British Columbia.

WCWG Partners

• ICBC - Diana Pozer, Road Safety Coordinator
• Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure – Bill Eisbrenner, Regional Manager, Engineering, Northern Regional Office; Daryl Nolan, Manager, Environmental Services, Northern Regional Office; Raylene Otto, Environmental Services Technician, Northern Regional Office; Nini Long, Manager, Highway Design & Traffic Engineering, Northern Regional Office; Genevieve Pelletier, Assistant Environment Coordinator, Southern Interior Regional Office; Margaret Henley, District Operations Technician, Cariboo District Office; and other Regional and District staff
• RCMP –  W. Gord Flewelling, Sergeant, North District Traffic Services
• Conservation Officer Service – Gary Van Spengen, Sergeant, Omineca Zone, Northern Region 
• University of Northern BC – Roy Rea, Ecosystem Science and Management Program 
• BC Conservation Foundation– Gayle Hesse, Coordinator, Wildlife Collision Prevention Program
• Northern Health Authority - James Haggerstone, Regional Manager, Health Information Analysis
• City of Prince George - Gary Stanker, Transportation Engineer

WCWG Plan

• Data analysis to identify moose collision hot spots (stretches of highway where moose vehicle collisions are most frequent) – completed
• Prioritization of hot spots – completed
• Field inspections of hot spots to identify environmental and/or engineering site factors that may be contributing to the high rate of wildlife vehicle collisions – completed 
• Identification (completed) and implementation (began in Oct 2009 and ongoing) of suitable mitigation techniques for high risk stretches of road
• Implementation of research to mitigate roadside mineral licks through rocking and fencing - ongoing
• Public awareness for motorists throughout all stages listed above – ongoing throughout entire project

WCWG Current Projects

Awareness

The RoadHealth Regional Task Force has awarded $5000 to the Wildlife Collision Prevention Program to carry out a public awareness campaign about the dangers of vehicle collisions with wildlife and what motorists can do to anticipate and avoid these types of collisions.

Program components include:

• Rest Stop Signage – currently in place along Highway 16 from Vanderhoof to the AB border, with some signage located on Highway 5, and Highway 97
• Kiosk sign located at the Visitor Information Centre at the Highway 16 and Highway 97 junction
• Advertising in regional magazines such as NorthwordMagazine
• Brochures available at Visitor Information Centres
• Development of a radio advertising campaign for the late winter, which is the highest risk time of year for collisions with wildlife. 

Research

The RoadHealth Regional Task Force has awarded $5000 to the University of Northern British Columbia to carry out an analysis of MoT and ICBC data on wildlife collisions. This data analysis has provided data on the highest risk times of day, months of the year and locations for wildlife collisions.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has entered into a contract with the University of Northern British Columbia to monitor and assess moose activity at control and treated roadside mineral licks.

• Camera traps, pellet counts, browse surveys, track plates, and soil sample analysis will all be used to investgate moose utilization of roadside licks.
• Decommissioning of licks will occur through excavation, rocking, and fencing.
• The feasibility of using alternate mitigation treatments such as physical barriers and repellents will be examined.    

*** Research Results ***

UNBC researchers have completed their research project using a mobile GPS units to record sightings of moose and deer (live or dead) along highways in northern BC. This information, combined with expert opinions and wildlife collision data, is used to assist in predicting where animals are likely to be at different times of the year, as well as at different times of the day.

Testing the Practicality of a GPS-based Device (the Otto Driving Companion) to Record Roadside Moose and Deer Locations for Use in Road Safety Planning. 2007. Hesse, G., Rea, R.V., and N. Klassen. Unpublished Report. Prince George, BC. 43 p. This report contains maps showing the locations of both live and dead moose and deer sightings noted during the research project.  

Using Wildlife Vehicle Collision Data, Expert Opinions and GPS Technology to More Accurately Predict and Mitigate Vehicular Collisions with Wildlife in Northern British Columbia. 2006. Rea, R.V., R.K.Rapaport, M.V. Hurley, N.A. Klassen. Wildlife Afield. 3:1 Supplement.

Using Collision Data, GPS Technology and Expert Opinion to Develop Strategic Countermeasure Recomendations for Reducing Animal-Vehicle Collisions in Northern Britsh Columbia. 2006. Road Health-University Wildlife Collision Mitigation Research Team. Unpublished Report. Prince George, BC. 145 p.

Back to top

News Releases

November 30, 2010

Watch Out For Moose in December! [PDF - 256kb]

November 14, 2007

November Highest Risk Month for Deer Collisions in Fort St John [PDF - 107kb] 

October 1, 2007

Moose Vehicle Collisions Begin to Rise in October Near Prince George [PDF - 33kb]

October 31, 2006

Research Aims to Document and Reduce Vehicle Collisions with Wildlife [PDF - 43kb]

May 18, 2006

ICBC and partners work to prevent wildlife collisions [PDF - 108kb]  

Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC)

On average, between 2006 and 2010, ICBC spent approximately $12 million dollars per year on 2,399 crashes involving animals in the North Central Interior of British Columbia. There is a distinct peak time for collisions which occurs between October and December, with a smaller peak in May through July.  

Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI)

Wildlife Accident Reporting System data from 2003-2007 (Sielecki, L., 2010. WARS 1988-2007: Special Annual Report, BC Ministry of Transportation) shows that in the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure's Northern Region, an average of 1144 animals are recorded as killed every year.

There are many animals that are hit by vehicles and move away from the road to die and therefore are not recorded on official MoT totals. Using the MoT estimates (Sielecki, L., 2010. WARS 1988-2007: Special Annual Report, BC Ministry of Transportation) of 1 recorded dead animal to 3 unrecorded dead animals, in northern BC, there are likely in excess of 4,500 animals killed per year due to collisions with vehicles. 

On the highways within the Fort George Highway District (closest to Prince George), WARS data shows that out of the total number of animals recorded,  38% of animals killed are deer , and 45% of animals killed are moose (Sielecki, L., 2010. WARS 1988-2007: Special Annual Report, BC Ministry of Transportation). The remainder are bear, elk, porcupine, coyote, beaver, wolf, and fox.

Moose collisions

Collisions with moose pose a significant risk of injury or death to motorists and passengers for the following reasons:

• Mature bull moose can weigh 450 to 500 kgs (1000 to 1100 lbs) and stand nearly 2 metres tall at the shoulder.
• Moose stand higher than the hood of most cars. In a collision, the legs of the moose are knocked out from underneath the animal and the large heavy body tends to slide up over the hood and crash down either onto the windshield or on to the top of the car, crushing the passenger compartment. The entire roof of a car can sometimes be removed by the force of such a collision.
• Moose are difficult to see at night. They are so tall that their eyes are often above the headlight beam of most cars, and therefore the eyes do not reflect vehicle headlight beams like other animals. Also, their coat is very dark and it blends into the dark surroundings.

Back to top

Moose Myths

Moose Myth #1:     Moose eyes don’t reflect headlight beams the same as deer eyes.

• Wrong! Moose eyes do reflect light.  Moose, like other animals that are active at night, have a tapetum lucidum underneath the retina of their eye. This layer acts like a mirror to reflect light back through the retina to make it easier for the moose to see at night. The tapetum lucidum also reflects the light of vehicle headlights and causes the eyes to glow or shine yellow or green when head light beams hit the animal’s eyes.
• The reason that many drivers do not see moose eyes at night is that the animals stand so tall that their eyes are above the headlight beams of most passenger vehicles.  

Moose Myth #2:     Just swerve to miss the animal and you’ll be OK.

• Wrong! Secondary crashes can occur when drivers attempt to avert an initial crash by swerving and then collide with another vehicle or object.
• Drive slowly enough that you have time to react without swerving.
• If a smaller animal like a deer in is your way, consider using your brakes instead of your wheel.
  Consider swerving only if it’s a larger animal (like a moose). Hitting a moose carries a significant risk of human injury or fatality.  

Moose Myth #3     Drivers don’t have to worry about hitting moose in the summer.

• Wrong! In many areas there is a small but consistent and distinct peak in moose collisions in the early summer (June and July).
• Moose cows crave salt at this time of year, likely related to calving and nursing, and they are strongly attracted to road salt accumulations in roadside muck licks.  

Moose Myth #4:     Only the moose gets hurt anyways.

• Wrong! In BC every year 4 people are killed and 316 people are injured due to wildlife collisions.
  Moose collisions pose a very significant risk of serious human injury or death.
• Moose weigh about 500 kg (1000 lbs), and are so tall that in a collision, their legs are knocked out from underneath them by the vehicle, and their large and heavy body falls onto the windshield or roof of the passenger vehicle.  

Wildlife Myth #5:     Long straight stretches of road are low risk for wildlife collisions.

• Wrong! Wildlife collisions occur more than expected on long straight stretches of road in good conditions.
  Why? It’s the heavy foot tendency – drivers tend to accelerate when they see a clear stretch of road in front of them. Avoiding animals is like dealing with any other road hazard – it takes a certain amount of time to see the animal, recognize the hazard, make the decision to act and then take the appropriate action.
• Buy yourself time to react – always drive at the posted speed limit, or slightly below in areas with wildlife warning signs. Remember that the posted speed is intended for ideal conditions. If it is raining, snowing, icy, etc, slow down even more.

Wildlife Myth #6: If you miss the deer you’re OK.

• Wrong! Deer are very social creatures and almost always travel in herds. If you see one deer, there are very likely others close by.
• Drivers should slow down immediately and put on the flashing lights to warn other drivers if they see a deer.
• The deer you are watching may not be the deer you hit. Watch out for the others following closely behind.  

Wildlife Myth # 7. Deer whistles work just fine.

• Wrong! Anecdotally, many people swear by their deer whistles, but there are no scientific studies that prove that they work.
• The animal has to hear the noise, recognize that it is coming from a vehicle, interpret that the sound means danger, and react by moving away from the vehicle.
• The danger is that if drivers think that deer whistles work, they may become complacent and rely on the deer whistle instead of driving wildlife aware.

Back to top