Electromagnetic Warning System Aims at Reducing Roadkills

Some drivers are lucky enough to never have dealt with a roadkill in the sense that they were the ones causing it, while some score kills that would make even the best hunters envious. Apparently, Colorado has a pretty solid record when it comes to ramming and obliterating wild animals or injuring and killing motorcycle riders, because highway planners there are currently testing a new prevention system that is hoped to improve the dire statistics.

Initially developed for prisons, GreenDaily writes that the system consists of a cable that's buried parallel to the road on both sides, emitting an electromagnetic field that's configured to detect large animals like deer or elk.

Whenever a curious wild being triggers the system, electronic signs alert drivers of the animals and radars try to determine whether drivers slow down. The portion of road where this system is being tested was not chosen randomly as officials say that 70% of the reported collisions involve wild animals.

While saving wild animals is definitely a priority, the catalyst to implementing the system was an unfortunate event involving a trooper. According to the Chicago Tribune, “[...] local concern took on an urgency last year when a Colorado State Patrol trooper died after his motorcycle crashed on another nearby road as he tried to avoid a herd of deer.”

The most popular method employed by authorities to prevent the animal's crossing relies on fences, but this interferes with the natural behavior and gives birth to protests from activists.

If the new $1-million system proves to be efficient, “it could provide Colorado with a new method of managing wildlife on roads without cutting off deer and elk from their migratory patterns,” Chicago Tribune also mentions.