According to an Australian study, the number of collision from striking wildlife has risen, but a potential solution has been discovered by wildlife rescuers from Victoria’s Surf Coast.
Suncorp Group’s AAMI Insurance study, has reported the number of collisions from striking wildlife on the road has risen by 22 per cent with one in six crashes writing off the vehicle.
The Toyota LandCruiser, the HiLux, the Ford Ranger, Toyota Corolla and the Holden Commodore were among the top vehicles involved in wildlife strikes.
The research showed more than 40 per cent of Australian drivers ignore wildlife warning signs. With 60 per cent reacting to potential animal collisions by swerving or braking abruptly, posing a threat to themselves and others.
The survey also indicated that 10 per cent of Australians are uncertain about what to do if they hit an animal, and over half (54 per cent) have experienced an animal collision.
In the last year alone, in 16 per cent of claims, AAMI said, the car had to be written off, with the average cost of an insurance claim costing greater than $5000.
A potential solution
According to the ABC, a Victorian wildlife group behind a virtual fence trial say they have seen a significant reduction in the wildlife road toll along a thoroughfare linking the Great Ocean Road and inland towns.
The so-called virtual fence looks a lot like the reflective posts you might often see on the side of the road, but these posts are green in colour.
Placed at 25-metre intervals, the posts have devices attached to them that are activated by approaching headlights from dusk until dawn.
The devices then emit a sound, paired with flashing blue and yellow LED lights, which alert animals and form a virtual barrier.
The Anglesea trial is in its third and final year and Surf Coast Wildlife Rescue founding member Jason Cichocki said he had also observed a reduction in the number of kangaroos feeding on the side of the road.
“At night time we would quite regularly have mobs of kangaroos on both sides of the road … in the second year of the trial we don’t see that anymore,” Cichocki said.
This article was originally published on The National Collision Repairer.