Skip to main content

Idaho developing wildlife-detection system to improve driver safety

Idaho Transportation Department’s (ITD) research program has initiated a project to evaluate an innovative new wildlife-detection system that may bring improved safety to area highways and reduce personal injury and property damage. The project is the result of a request from ITD’s northern Idaho office, and is a partnership between ITD and the Western Transportation Institute (WTI) of Montana State University. Collisions between wildlife and vehicles can be a big problem, and common in rural states such
February 15, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
7477 Idaho Transportation Department’s (ITD) research program has initiated a project to evaluate an innovative new wildlife-detection system that may bring improved safety to area highways and reduce personal injury and property damage. The project is the result of a request from ITD’s northern Idaho office, and is a partnership between ITD and the Western Transportation Institute (WTI) of Montana State University.

Collisions between wildlife and vehicles can be a big problem, and common in rural states such as Idaho, accounting for more than US$8.4 billion nationwide each year, and costing Idaho a total of nearly US$20 million last year.

Preliminary studies indicate that vehicle-animal collisions could be reduced by at least one-third by using the system. “Wildlife-vehicle collisions are a costly safety issue for Idaho travellers,” said ITD research program manager Ned Parrish. “Injuries and the loss of life, human or wild animal, are broad social and environmental concerns.”  

The system, which was developed by Boise’s Sloan Security Group, uses a Doppler radar sensor mounted on a pole 20-25 feet above the ground, allowing the sensor to ‘look over’ semi-trucks to detect large animals on both sides of the road and on the road itself for several hundred metres. The system is connected to flashing warning beacons that are activated to alert drivers of animals on or near the roadway.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Kenya WIM system cuts four days off journey times
    March 18, 2014
    Shem Oirere looks at how weigh-in-motion is helping to streamline the trucking industry in Kenya. Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy, is streamlining trucking operations on its section of the 8,800km Northern Corridor. It is both reducing the number of weighbridges and automating the remaining ones in an effort to improve efficiency and eliminate corruption.The Northern Corridor is a major gateway through Kenya to the landlocked countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sou
  • IRF World Congress 2024: moving ahead
    October 22, 2024
    On the last day of the three-day IRF World Congress 2024 in Istanbul, attendees heard what can work best, what can be improved and what the future might hold for those pursuing sustainable goals. David Arminas reports.
  • Hard data supports traffic monitoring
    April 30, 2024
    A collaboration between AGD Systems and North Line Canada has demonstrated the value of traffic experts putting their heads together to improve pedestrian safety
  • Ukraine turns to ITS to cope with traffic increases
    June 9, 2015
    With increasing road fatalities the Ukrainian government is planning to introduce ITS technology in 2016-2017. Eugene Gerden finds out more. The government of Ukraine is considering a massive introduction of ITS in the national system of traffic during the period 2016-2017, according to a recent statement by the Ukrainian Ministry of Transport. According to the Ukrainian government, implementation of the project is an acute need, as in recent years the number of road accidents in Ukraine has significantly