MEDIA RELEASE UNSW Faculty of Science 25 August 2009
Animals cause thousands of road accidents: study
Kangaroos and wallabies are the most likely species to be involved in animal-related road accidents
that result in human death or injury and vehicle damage on NSW roads, a new study has found.
More than 5,000 such accidents were recorded in NSW in the decade between 1996 and 2005,
resulting in more than 1,700 people being injured and another 22 killed when drivers collided with
or tried to avoid animals, the study found.
But the real toll is likely to be much higher than the numbers reported, the researchers note:
"Often, drivers swerve to miss animals only to hit roadside obstacles, such as trees and poles or
oncoming vehicles."
Seven people were injured in the worst crash. The average insurance cost of each accident was
estimated in 2003 by the NRMA to be about $3,000.
Straying stock, dogs, riderless horses and other large animals were next most involved. Wombats,
emu, stock being driven or led, cats and rabbits also featured in the NSW accident database,
analysed by Dr Daniel Ramp and doctoral student Erin Roger of the UNSW School of Biological,
Earth and Environmental Sciences. It is one of the few of its kind.
Dr Ramp says that with more vehicles and greater reliance on the road transport network over the
past 30 years, collisions between animals and vehicles have become an increasing concern for
health and road safety agencies, environmentalists and animal welfare groups.
The study found that crashes were significantly more likely to happen at weekends and twice as
likely to happen in the winter months, from April to August. The great majority occurred on dry
roads in fine weather between dusk and dawn, with the peak period being between 6pm and 7pm.
"We have identified several major hotspots for crashes involving animals," Dr Ramp says. "They
were concentrated along the Hume, Barton and Federal highways, with peaks around the
intersections, particularly those at Canberra and Yass." Other hotspots were located near Dubbo,
Newcastle and Byron Bay. For dogs, the foothills of the Blue Mountains accounted for the vast
majority of crashes during the study period.
The knowledge that these hotspots are species specific should help road managers engineers focus
their efforts on those species at those locations, Dr Ramp says. "It is likely that the solutions will
come from a combination of behavioural and vehicle design approaches. There is a particular need
to understand driver reactions to animals on roads and their attitudes to the risk of collisions with
them.
"Previous studies investigating driver behaviour and attitudes to animal-vehicle crashes have been
minimal. Nonetheless, it is known that drivers can effectively reduce the likelihood of animal-
vehicle crashes by reducing their driving speed and remaining alert while driving through areas
where animals are more abundant. "
Media contacts: Daniel Ramp: 02 9385 2111 mobile – 0402 910 144 d.ramp@unsw.edu.au
Faculty of Science: Bob Beale 0411 705 435 bbeale@unsw.edu.au
NEWS 
