Too many animals meet their demise on the world’s streets. How can drivers in Canada help to reduce the damage being done to the world’s wildlife population?

These accidents pose a threat to both people and wildlife. But there is a way to ensure that people traversing our nation’s roads in vehicles and wildlife remain safe. The solution is a combination of safe driving practices and preventive measures that keep wildlife away from the streets as best as possible.

Never slam on your brakes to avoid a small animal.

What the Research Says

The gravity of the problem inspired University of Waterloo’s Associate Professor Michael Drescher and graduate student Kristin Elton to, through research, unearth a solution to the carnage on the country’s roads. They have found that safer driving practices could save thousands of wildlife animals and save money in the process. The study revealed that provincial authorities and drivers are the primary driving forces behind this solution.

As revealed by the study, fewer accidents equate to fewer visits to the emergency rooms and less need for emergency roadside services, which eventually leads to reduced expenditure from the cities purse.

The Role of the Authorities

According to the study, administrators can help to facilitate safer driving practices by installing and maintaining safety signs, especially those that signal the presence of wild animals. They can also implement wild animal control measures such as the erection of barriers that prevent or restrict wild animals from entering roadways. Naturally, in order to know where the danger is most critical, the city would need to access and use better wildlife detection systems. These low-cost measures, the study revealed, could prevent thousands of wildlife-related vehicular accidents on Ontario’s roads.

When on secluded roads, decrease speed and watch for animals.

How Skedaddle is Playing its Part

As humane animal control experts, Skedaddle is worried about the impact that these accidents have on the wildlife population. It is our desire to see a Canada in which both wildlife and humans thrive equally.

Our services, being humane in nature, are already centered on the preservation of wildlife species. Some of these services help to prevent wildlife-related collisions. Our wild animal control measures, for instance, reduces the displacement of animals. This is so because we ensure that animals are not relocated to unfamiliar territories. We know all too well that in unfamiliar surroundings, wildlife animals will try to return to their familiar habitats and that it is these attempts that often lead them to roadways.

What Drivers Can Do

Drivers can protect themselves, their passengers and the wildlife animals from the dangers of road collisions by paying close attention to safety signs and acting accordingly. Practices like slowing down in the vicinity of wildlife hotspots and looking out for animals at crossing zones can go a long way in ensuring that a driver does not hit an animal or end up in an accident after swerving to avoid hitting one.

Save yourself and Canada’s wildlife residents from the dangers that lurk on the road by practicing safe driving techniques. Help keep our streets safe for all classes of animals.