Driving during the fall mating season can be deadly

Commentary by Kevin Laliberte

Motorists who commonly frequent our highways and rural roads in northwestern Alberta at night, dusk or dawn are likely all too familiar with the potential dangers lurking just beyond our headlights. No, I’m not talking about those reckless few drivers who continually place their lives and those of innocent others at risk by crowding the centre line, tailgating, speeding, and passing on solid yellow lines. I’m referring to nature’s wild kingdom, which has an increased tendency of crossing our paths at this time of year in conjunction with the return of the fall rutting season. Personally speaking, I consider myself one of a fortunate few drivers out there (knock on wood) to say I’ve been spared the damage of a collision in my travels with the likes of moose, deer, or anything else with four legs and a pulse for that matter. I can’t say the same, however, about that unlucky seagull which veered directly into the front end of my three-quarter ton truck earlier this year at a speed of about 105 km/hr, leaving a six-inch crack in the grill of the truck. Still, I consider myself lucky. The same can’t be said for those unfortunate few drivers who continue to be seriously injured and killed following collisions with Alberta wildlife on our highways. Wild animals on Alberta’s roads are definitely a hazard to drivers with ninety per cent of animal-vehicle collisions occurring in rural parts of the province such as northwestern Alberta. On Alberta roads in 2002, for example, nine people lost their lives and 442 were injured in 11,449 collisions involving animals. The resulting insurance claim costs exceeded a whopping $11.1 million. Worse yet is the fact that those numbers are continuing to rise. In the past decade lone, crashes involving wildlife or domestic animals and vehicles in Alberta have nearly doubled. And it’s not surprising to learn that many of those same encounters occur specifically during the fall season – a particularly dangerous time to be a driver due to the increased activity of wildlife. Statistics show that among all types of wildlife, deer are the most common victims, especially during the spring and fall, when deer and other ungulates travel between their summer and winter habitats. Which brings me to the month of November – the peak mating season for deer, making it the number one month for collisions involving motorists and wildlife. Roads tend to be a magnet in terms of attracting wildlife at this time of year. That’s because they provide animals with a travel corridor and a seemingly endless source of salt during the winter months, which I might add accounts for more than one-third of collisions involving animals. One of the primary reasons attributed to the rise in the number of collisions with animals is that drivers continue to ignore the warning signs. That includes everything from wildlife fencing, to posted animal crossing signs and reduced speed limits – preventative strategies implemented by the province in recent years to alert drivers of the potential dangers ahead. Keep in mind that these efforts, while helpful, in no way should diminish our role and responsibility as motorists in helping to limit the chance of a collision with wildlife on the open road this fall and winter. Reducing your speed and being extremely cautious while traveling at dawn, dusk or night are two effective ways to help reduce the odds. Still, there are no guarantees in life. Sometimes it’s just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, as many of us can attest to.