Video Game Supplies Statistics To Save Animals From Being Run Over

Florida is home to some of the worlds most endangered panthers. The state owns one of the big cat’s last remaining habitats which just so happens to be sliced in half by the state’s Route 41 highway.

Of course, Route 41 has road signs conveniently placed at the sides of the road to help prevent these panthers from becoming road-kill, but do the road signs really prevent as much road-kill as they should? Collisions have already killed 17+ panthers this year. Probably sounding like a small amount to you, right? How about after I tell you that there are only between 100 – 180 panthers left in Florida? – According to conservation biologist at the University of Central Florida, Molly Grace. “Given that estimate, road-kill is a major issue.”

Grace decided that a solution has to be made, given that these statistics will wipe out every single panther in just a little over 8 years. Grace began to study how well different types of road signs alert drivers of the wildlife crossing the road. To achieve this, Grace’s team created a realistic driving simulator based on similar conditions to Route 41.

The researchers then applied different people to drive along the road using the simulator, some of the people would encounter text-written road signs, whilst others would encounter signs showing some sort of image that would clearly represent wildlife. Lastly, some of the participants would encounter no signs.

According to the results, pictures alert more drivers.

“The picture-based signs did do slightly better than the word-based signs at reducing people’s speed and brake reaction times, which supports that hypothesis,” Stated Grace “However, the word-based signs were still better than having no signs at all.”

Grace also studied a comparison between drivers reactions to static wildlife crossing signs and Roadside Animal Detection Systems (RADS). The detection systems utilize infra-red sensors to detect large animals crossing the road, which in turn will trigger flashing lights on warning signs. FWC installed the RADS alongside a 1.3 mile portion of Route 41 cutting through Big Cypress National Park in 2013.

The researchers noticed that drivers would have a faster and more intelligent response to flashing RADS rather than static road signs. Backing up research studied in Switzerland a few years prior which found that signs with blinking lights reduce collisions by as much as 80 percent.

The research may help officials to decide what type of signs should be used in certain areas, greatly declining the amount of road-kill annually.

Another option, and probably the best option, is to install animal overpasses and underpasses, whilst this option would almost eliminate any of the guided animals from becoming road-kill at all, it is definitely expensive, costing upwards of 5 million dollars. These options can also be very difficult to install.

Grace commented on the use of RADS “Right now, they’re more popular in Europe than the United States,” continuing to say that they are being tested in Canada and South-west Colorado.

“It’s not just Florida panthers that can benefit from the RADS; more common animals, like deer, black bear, and even alligators can trip the system,” Grace said. “RADS greatly reduces the chance that drivers will habituate to, and ignore, the warning. If you drive past a static ‘deer crossing’ sign every day and never see a deer, you probably eventually tune it out, which could be bad news for you in the long run.”

“This road is a main [high]way across the state, connecting Tampa to Miami,” she added. “Its intersection with Big Cypress National Park has been a hot spot for mortality not just for panthers, but other wildlife found in the forest and marsh ecosystems of the park.”

The Federal Highway Administration estimates that anywhere from 1 million to 2 million collisions between cars and wildlife takes place every year in the US. Will the implementation of these flashing road signs reduce that number?

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