NYS to study how to cut down on roadway wildlife collisions
A buck in the early morning just outside the entrance to Smith Point County Park Campground. Credit: Tom Lambui
New York's transportation department will use federal funds to study how best to cut down on the thousands of collisions that take place between vehicles and wildlife on the state's roads each year.
The New York State Department of Transportation estimates there are between 60,000 and 70,000 collisions involving vehicles hitting wildlife annually in New York — most of them involving vehicles striking deer, especially in the fall. The issue is an important one for Long Island, in particular for Suffolk County, where numbers of animal strikes have risen in recent years.
The Federal Highway Administration said a grant from the Biden administration will allow the NYSDOT to conduct a two-phase study researching measures to limit the interactions that are sometimes deadly for both driver and wildlife.
The $323,850 grant was announced by the FHA earlier in December and goes to 16 states, including New York, as part of the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program. The bipartisan infrastructure law, signed by President Joe Biden in 2021, offers competitive grants aimed at doing research, planning and construction to improve roadway safety for drivers while protecting animals trying to connect with their habitat.
The DOT study will look at signage, vegetation removal options, speed and traffic restrictions and other measures that could help cut down on animal strikes at "hot spots" in the state during the riskiest vehicle collision seasons. It will look at how barriers, crossings and a host of other mitigation and detection systems — including in-vehicle warning systems — might ultimately make roadways safer for drivers and for animals.
"Safety is always the top priority of New York State Department of Transportation and this grant from the FHWA’s Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program will help NYSDOT develop the tools to identify problematic areas for vehicle-wildlife collisions and procedures to reduce them, enhancing safety for the traveling public and safeguarding the ecological health of the state," Stephen Canzoneri, a DOT spokesman, said via email Tuesday.
On Long Island, animal strikes are common on area roadways.
Just along her 10-minute drive to work as the director of wildlife rehabilitation for Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown, Janine Bendicksen said she routinely sees how deer and other animal strikes have grown to "a huge problem" throughout Suffolk County.
The center rehabilitates around 3,000 animals of all shapes and sizes each year, hundreds of which are hit by cars, according to Bendicksen. The animals typically undergo rehab, which can last a week to several months, but some must be euthanized. She said deer and turtle strikes have increased throughout Suffolk over the past decade.
"There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t get one or more phone calls about a deer getting hit by a car," she said. "This year we had a record number of box turtles run over by cars … We also see squirrels, opossums, birds, ducks, geese, you name it."
Earlier this year, officials at Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons said 36 turtles were killed in a single week on Long Island — struck by cars, trucks and other vehicles. Police in the Town of Southold last year estimated there are about 200 collisions annually involving drivers striking deer.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation said this year there have been about two dozen fatal vehicle collisions involving river otter strikes over the past decade.
New York's transportation department will use federal funds to study how best to cut down on the thousands of collisions that take place between vehicles and wildlife on the state's roads each year.
The New York State Department of Transportation estimates there are between 60,000 and 70,000 collisions involving vehicles hitting wildlife annually in New York — most of them involving vehicles striking deer, especially in the fall. The issue is an important one for Long Island, in particular for Suffolk County, where numbers of animal strikes have risen in recent years.
The Federal Highway Administration said a grant from the Biden administration will allow the NYSDOT to conduct a two-phase study researching measures to limit the interactions that are sometimes deadly for both driver and wildlife.
The $323,850 grant was announced by the FHA earlier in December and goes to 16 states, including New York, as part of the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program. The bipartisan infrastructure law, signed by President Joe Biden in 2021, offers competitive grants aimed at doing research, planning and construction to improve roadway safety for drivers while protecting animals trying to connect with their habitat.
Tips to avoid vehicle collisions with wildlife
- Slow down, especially if you see an animal near the road, as speed is the most significant factor in the severity of damage and physical injury.
- Be alert in high-density wildlife areas; honk your horn and tap your brakes to warn other drivers if you see an animal in or near the roadway.
- Flicking high beams may reduce risk by causing animals to flee the hazard area.
- Be aware of peak season, when animal crashes are highest — especially fall, which is prime deer hunting and mating season.
Source: State Farm Insurance
The DOT study will look at signage, vegetation removal options, speed and traffic restrictions and other measures that could help cut down on animal strikes at "hot spots" in the state during the riskiest vehicle collision seasons. It will look at how barriers, crossings and a host of other mitigation and detection systems — including in-vehicle warning systems — might ultimately make roadways safer for drivers and for animals.
"Safety is always the top priority of New York State Department of Transportation and this grant from the FHWA’s Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program will help NYSDOT develop the tools to identify problematic areas for vehicle-wildlife collisions and procedures to reduce them, enhancing safety for the traveling public and safeguarding the ecological health of the state," Stephen Canzoneri, a DOT spokesman, said via email Tuesday.
On Long Island, animal strikes are common on area roadways.
Just along her 10-minute drive to work as the director of wildlife rehabilitation for Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown, Janine Bendicksen said she routinely sees how deer and other animal strikes have grown to "a huge problem" throughout Suffolk County.
The center rehabilitates around 3,000 animals of all shapes and sizes each year, hundreds of which are hit by cars, according to Bendicksen. The animals typically undergo rehab, which can last a week to several months, but some must be euthanized. She said deer and turtle strikes have increased throughout Suffolk over the past decade.
"There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t get one or more phone calls about a deer getting hit by a car," she said. "This year we had a record number of box turtles run over by cars … We also see squirrels, opossums, birds, ducks, geese, you name it."
Earlier this year, officials at Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons said 36 turtles were killed in a single week on Long Island — struck by cars, trucks and other vehicles. Police in the Town of Southold last year estimated there are about 200 collisions annually involving drivers striking deer.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation said this year there have been about two dozen fatal vehicle collisions involving river otter strikes over the past decade.
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