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Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) to launch Wildlife-Vehicle Collision (WVC) Clearing House

TIRF is pleased to announce that it has received funding from State Farm Canada to develop an online wildlife-vehicle collision (WVC) clearing house. The development of the clearing house stems from a comprehensive review of this road safety issue and a feasibility study to investigate strategies to address the problem.

“The TIRF feasibility study, also funded by State Farm Canada and released in 2012, revealed important gaps in research and knowledge about WVCs, and a lack of complete data sources that can inform our understanding of the causes and consequences of this problem,” explains President and CEO, Robyn Robertson. “More concerning, the fragmented data and resources that are available make it challenging to identify the most effective ways to begin to address it. The creation of a central repository to compile and distill this information was a logical next step emerging from the feasibility study.”

Transport Canada reports some 25,000 collisions involving a large animal each year. According to the 2012 study there has been an average annual increase of 7.55% in WVCs from 1994 to 2004. These data most often include large animals such as deer, moose, elk and bison, which typically result in injury collisions or serious damage.

Conversely, WVCs with smaller animals are usually not reported. However this issue is a concern as many of these smaller species play a key role in the ecosystem and represent species that are endangered or at risk.

Ms. Robertson explains that “The results of the 2012 study showed that the consequences of wildlife-vehicle collisions are under-estimated and profound. These collisions can be linked to road user deaths and serious injuries as well as a loss of biodiversity. The bottom line is that WVCs increase direct and indirect financial costs to Canadians.” National estimates of the problem suggest that WVCs cost Canadians a minimum of $200 million a year.

One of the most effective ways to prevent WVCs is road-life mitigation solutions which aim to reduce negative impacts by changing motorist and/or wildlife behaviour. The choice of mitigation solution and how it is implemented is informed by data that are collected and analyzed by road engineers and mitigation specialists. Better access to research and data provided by the new clearing house will inform the development of new mitigation solutions and help to improve those that are currently in place.

“The goal of the wildlife-vehicle clearing house is to begin to raise awareness and fill gaps in WVC information, data, research and tools that are needed by researchers, practitioners, and the public to help reduce and prevent WVCs,” describes Robertson. “The online resource will host a variety of products, data links and resources that meet the needs of researchers and practitioners in ecological, environmental, and road safety industries, and, provide useful information to educate the public to better understand and prevent these types of collisions.”

The wildlife-vehicle collision clearing house website is set to launch in Spring 2015.

Learn more about the Wildlife-Vehicle Collision Database Feasibility Study.

About TIRF. Established in 1964, TIRF’s mission is to reduce traffic-related deaths and injuries. As a national, independent, charitable road safety institute, TIRF designs, promotes, and implements effective programs and policies, based on sound research. TIRF is a registered charity and depends on grants, contracts, and donations to provide services for the public. Visit us online at www.tirf.ca.

About State Farm®. State Farm has been serving Canadians since 1938. State Farm and its affiliates are the fourth largest auto insurance provider, and the seventh largest property and casualty insurer in Canada. State Farm has 500 Canadian agents and 1300 employees providing insurance and financial services including mutual funds, life insurance, vehicle loans, critical illness, disability, home and auto insurance to our customers in Ontario, Alberta and New Brunswick. For more information, please visit www.statefarm.ca, join us on Facebook www.facebook.com/statefarmcanada, follow us on Twitter @StateFarmCanada, or see us on YouTubewww.youtube.com/statefarm.  

For more information, please contact:

[contact_tirf_marketing][/contact_tirf_marketing]

David Bird
Website administrator for TIRF.ca

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