Title: Effectiveness of Trapper's Point Wildlife Crossing Animal Detection
Principal Investigator's Name(s): Dr. Rhonda Young, P.E.
Project Sponsor: Wyoming Department of Transportation
Project Timeline: Completion December 2008
Background: Animal detection and traveler warning systems are relatively new technology being
used by transportation agencies to address safety concerns related to vehicle-wildlife
crashes.
These systems go beyond the static wildlife warning signs that drivers quickly become
accustomed to and also avoid the habitat separation issue of wildlife fencing methods.
Detection and warning systems typically consist of two parts; the animal detection
system component that is usually calibrated to detect large animals in the vicinity
of the roadway and the warning system that activates drivers warning signs. Since
these signs are not static the belief is that they elicit greater response from the
drivers than the passive, traditional signage.
The main objective of this research work is to investigate the effectiveness of the
Trapper’s Point Animal Detection System. To meet this objective the following major
research tasks are proposed
Each of these research objectives will be broken into individual phases with interim
reports prepared for each phase.