Research

Iways Research Projects

Animal Detection

ADOT&PF joined the animal vehicle crash notification system pooled fund study in 2002. Alaska has an average of over 600 moose-vehicle collisions annually. Of those, 110 cause injuries and 1.5 cause death annually.

Project Objective: Deploy and evaluate effectiveness of automated animal detection and warning.

Project Abstract: According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle collisions with animals accounted for more than a quarter of a million vehicle crashes in 1996. Although the majority of these crashes resulted in limited human injury or property damage, we know that crash-related costs quickly escalate above the average per crash cost of $2,000. Reducing the risk of injury and reducing property damage certainly benefits the traveling public.

Traditional Countermeasures: Three methods have typically been used to reduce animal-vehicle collisions (1) limit animal presence on the roadway using fences, reflectors, scent and sound-based repellents, or increased hunting; (2) improve the driver’s ability to react through reduced speed zones, vegetation clearances or improved lighting; or (3) improve the driver’s awareness of the hazard through warning signs or public education. Traditional countermeasures have met with mixed results or have been too costly to justify their widespread implementation.

The Project: With the advent of Intelligent Transportation Systems and an increased focus on technological solutions, many feel that the problem of animal-vehicle crashes should be re-examined. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), in cooperation with the Western Transportation Institute (WTI), is proposing to do just that. A pooled fund study has been initiated that will investigate the most promising roadway or vehicle-based animal detection/driver warning systems to mitigate animal-vehicle crashes. This investigation will likely result in the development and installation of a prototype animal detection and driver warning system and an evaluation of its effectiveness in reducing animal-vehicle crashes. Depending on the technological opportunities more than one system may be field-tested and evaluated.

< Back