Wildlife warning

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Typical blue wildlife warning reflector (here on the S119 between Neukirch / Lausitz and Bautzen)

Wild Warner (also wildlife warning device called), the the wildlife warning reflectors wildlife should keep the night from crossing a road in front of approaching cars. The aim is to avoid accidents with wildlife where physical barriers through wildlife fences are problematic or too expensive. Wildlife warning at the roadside are mostly optical, often red or blue reflective and acoustic devices, which send out signals to deter the animals, but also address the olfactory perception (sense of smell) of the animals.

In addition, whistles with the designation "Wildwarner" are offered in the automobile accessories trade, which are to be mounted on the vehicle and should emit high-frequency sounds. However, their effect is very controversial.

Game warning on the roadside

To reflect / deflect headlights in the direction of game off the road, reflectors (solid plastic or foil) are required, which emit incident light approximately at right angles. Such reflectors act like a corner mirror made of two mirrors at an angle of 135 ° to each other with a common vertical axis. To ensure that such reflectors also work up or down slopes, they are adapted to the terrain and tilted relative to the street level. They work efficiently when their surface is like a plane mirror at an angle of 45 ° to the road axis. Reflectors that not only deflect at right angles but also create a fan of rays (e.g. 70/80/90/100/110 °) have less brightness from the point of view of the game to be warned, but have a broader spatial effect. It is also possible to produce reflector foil that re-radiates the incident light in a horizontal manner. In Austria, the Wildlife Protection Directive (RVS 3.01) applies. There is no prescribed standard in Germany. The most common and most cost-effective embodiment are special reflective strips that direct the headlights of passing vehicles in the direction of the forest or field. This should create a kind of light fence that keeps the game away. This is how game warning devices, which are made in Switzerland from empty PET bottles , also work. These bottles are covered with such a reflector foil and hung on critical road sections on metal bars next to the roadside; CDs are also used as a makeshift .

Active devices powered by solar cells are equipped with a light sensor that detects the headlights of approaching vehicles and then generates an interrupted beep that is easily audible to the human ear. This beep is intended to warn wild animals trying to cross the road. Some devices also emit a blue flashing signal. The power supply is ensured by built-in solar cells . This type of device is sometimes offered under the name acoustic reflector . Such game detectors are installed by hunting authorities, hunting tenants or road authorities. The light detectors only reach their highest sensitivity when it is very dark. If it is sufficiently dark, such a warning can be triggered by illuminating the sensor with a headlamp or with the narrow beam of the bicycle lights . Motorized people only hear the sound if they are sitting in a car that is not too well insulated and not exposing themselves to too much engine noise or music. The beeping does not warn people about a specific occurrence of game, but only makes them generally aware that they are driving into a place where there is a risk of game crossing.

Game detectors can be installed at known critical game passes on the roadside. For this purpose, the devices are usually mounted on the already existing delineator posts . In Germany, on the one hand, the attachment of reflectors by private individuals to facilities that are considered part of the road next to the carriageway is not permitted. On the other hand, cooperation with the transport authorities leads to positive results.

In October 2015, HTL students from Lienz tested Wildwarner for the first time in road practice. They are to be stuck on guide posts and contain a solar-powered, battery-operated thermal imaging camera that detects game and uses a light signal to warn drivers of any specific game. Neighboring stations are notified by radio, which then also give a signal.

  • Simple reflector (red, Germany)

  • Multi-colored reflector (Germany)

  • Electronic game warning device (Austria, on the L38 near Igls )

  • A simple game warning device with a passive reflective strip (Netherlands)

  • Wildlife warning reflector (Netherlands)

  • Semicircular reflector

Wildlife warning on the vehicle

These types of devices are installed on the front of the vehicle or in the engine compartment. They generate an ultrasonic signal either electrically when the headlights are switched on or from the airstream. This signal is intended to deter the game. The usefulness of this type of device is controversial.

Alternative method: scented fence

To prevent accidents involving wildlife, scented marks are also set as an alternative . The so-called scented fence acts as a repellent and is intended to keep game from crossing the street. Field tests in different countries sometimes came to different efficacy assessments; a two-year study in Germany determined a decrease in accidents of 60% in 2011.

criticism

The effectiveness of wildlife detectors has been and is variously checked. In some cases, investigations commissioned by the manufacturers revealed a significant improvement in the accident situation, which was attributed to the use of wildlife detectors. In some cases, however, no or only a slight positive effect could be demonstrated in independent studies. In the ADAC specialist information on game accident prevention, especially in some investigations, a wrong reference value, insufficient statistical coverage, too short an investigation period, insufficient consideration of external influencing variables and a targeted selection of samples of particularly successful routes are criticized .

Measures to reduce the number of game accidents are often taken on sections of the route that recorded a particularly high number of game animals in the previous year. But even without additional measures, a period with lower numbers of fallen game usually follows on such routes. If the particularly high number of fallen game is used as the reference value and not the long-term average, the success of game accident prevention measures is overestimated. In many studies, positive results are only confirmed as a temporary trend. In addition, it was observed that the game moves along the sections of the route prepared with warning devices and moves to neighboring areas without a game warning device, which means that the game crossing is relocated. In particular, it seems possible to get the game used to the long-term effects.

But external factors also influence the test results. In addition to fluctuating traffic volumes, changes in the agricultural use of adjacent areas, local weather conditions, disruptions or the removal of game for hunting have an impact on the number of accidents involving game. All influences together lead to considerable fluctuations over the years, even without the use of wildlife warning devices. Some projects such as the Swiss prevention project “Fewer wildlife accidents!” In addition to the installation of acoustical-optical game warning system, an important pillar is raising awareness and informing the population. The main message of the flyers distributed during the campaign was that a suitable speed offers the best protection against a collision with game. By recognizing reflectors on the delineator posts, the motorist could unconsciously or consciously reduce the speed and increase awareness: "It is still unclear whether optical measures primarily affect the wild animals or rather the road users."

Wildlife detectors (regardless of whether they are active devices or passive reflectors) require the vehicle's headlights to activate. They therefore only work properly at dusk or at night. Especially with dangerous road layouts such as sharp bends, hollows or knolls, the headlights can reach the game warning system much later and thus reduce the warning time. Thrown up road debris or de-icing agents can contaminate the reflectors or sensors and thus further impair their effectiveness. In addition, wildlife detectors can be damaged or fail due to accidents or vandalism. The perfect functioning of the game warning system must therefore be checked again and again.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Norms and standards regarding wild animal passages in Austria p. 16ff. accessed on February 26, 2019
  2. ↑ Prevention project "Fewer wildlife accidents!" ( Memento of the original from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Presentation by the President RevierJagd Schweiz dated August 7, 2007, (PDF), accessed September 27, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.svv.ch
  3. ↑ Fewer accidents due to the new wildlife warning device orf.at, October 17, 2006, last accessed October 20, 2015.
  4. ↑ Prevention project "Fewer wildlife accidents!" ( Memento of the original from September 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Project status May 2009 of the Swiss Insurance Association (PDF), accessed September 27, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.svv.ch
  5. ↑ The new game warner is proving its worth Article in the Tages-Anzeiger of October 23, 2008.
  6. ↑ Blue reflectors protect animals and drivers ( memento of the original from October 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Oberhessische Presse from July 16, 2012, accessed September 27, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.op-marburg.de
  7. ↑ http://tirol.orf.at/news/stories/2737802/ HTL students developed game warning device, orf.at, October 20, 2015, accessed October 20, 2015.
  8. ↑ The VOX car magazine: Wildwarner , conclusion: Whistling for the hood did not have a deterrent effect in the wildlife park. Two of the three devices tested did not produce a measurable sound at the edge of the road. One device produced a low tone that would be audible just 1.4 seconds before a possible impact. , accessed September 21, 2013.
  9. ↑ a b c d ADAC - Specialized Information Game Accident Prevention (PDF; 1.4 MB), January 2013, accessed on March 19, 2019.
  10. ↑ Der Spiegel : Smelly Boots: "... On average, the number of accidents fell by half. In some areas there were even up to 70 and 80 percent fewer collisions with game." , dated September 28, 1992, loaded on July 20, 2018
  11. ↑ wildundstrasse.de: The number of accidents involving wildlife is increasing , from April 12, 2007, accessed on September 27, 2013.
  12. ↑ Wildbiologie-Institut.de: Preventing wildlife accidents: what really helps? Preventive measures on the test bench ; Page 15, Metastudie pages 47-49, published November 2016, loaded on July 20, 2018
  13. ↑ a b Dr. Ernst Moser: Acoustic game warner in the test (PDF, 160 kB), Jagd-Zeitung, 2007, accessed September 27, 2013.
  14. ↑ Dipl.-Ing. Heiko Voss: Accident accumulations with accidents involving wildlife , final report of the accident research of insurers, January 2007 (PDF), accessed on September 27, 2013.
  15. ↑ a b c d e Prevention project “Fewer wildlife accidents!” ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Final report October 2012, of the Swiss Insurance Association (PDF), accessed September 27, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.svv.ch
  16. ^ Jagd in Bayern , member magazine of the Bavarian Hunting Association , issue 9/2013, p. 30f.