Daylight saving time can decrease the frequency of wildlife–vehicle collisions

Abstract

Daylight saving time (DST) could reduce collisions with wildlife by changing the timing of commuter traffic relative to the behaviour of nocturnal animals. To test this idea, we tracked wild koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) in southeast Queensland, where koalas have declined by 80% in the last 20 years, and compared their movements with traffic patterns along roads where they are often killed. Using a simple model, we found that DST could decrease collisions with koalas by 8% on weekdays and 11% at weekends, simply by shifting the timing of traffic relative to darkness. Wildlife conservation and road safety should become part of the debate on DST.

Integrating conservation biology into the development of automated vehicle technology to reduce animal–vehicle collisions

“…Road strikes can be mitigated with physical barriers such as fences, reductions in speed limits, and even by the implementation of Daylight Saving Time (Ellis et al., ). Roadside fencing is the most common and effective means of preventing animals from accessing roads, but can impede dispersal, foraging, or migration, so fences are often used in conjunction with crossing structures, which allow animals to move over or under the roads to access other parts of their home range.…”

Analysis of morbidity and mortality of wild koalas in south-east Queensland using passive surveillance data

“…Virtually all koala trauma cases were derived from anthropogenic sources (Griffith et al, 2013, Obendorf, 1983, directly (MV) or indirectly (dogs, livestock, drowning), except intraspecific aggression. Habitat encroachment due to land clearing and urbanisation, shows a strong association with road vehicle and dog attack trauma , Ellis et al, 2016. However, residents in these areas may report injured or sick charismatic fauna to hospitals, thus increasing location and selection bias.…”

“…Additional threat mitigation efforts currently under consideration or being carried out to aid include differential speed signs (Dique, Thompson, Preece, Penfold et al, 2003), installation of Intelligent Transportation System devices for driver awareness (Birdlife Australia, 2016, Protection, 2013), dog registrations (Obendorf, 1983), to cite a few. Additional traffic-calming measures such as daylight savings (Ellis et al, 2016) can be adopted in QLD to decrease road-associated injury and mortality, following careful consideration of its impact on diurnal species. These measures could aid in the alleviation of current road and dog associated mortality for wild crepuscular or nocturnal species in Australia and elsewhere.…”

“…A study conducted in NSW determined that increasing the volume of the roads to accommodate a growing number of vehicles had less impact than building new roads irrespective of traffic volume (Rhodes et al, 2014). Alternatives to reduce the mortality of species roaming during dawn and dusk have been proposed in QLD, such as adopting daylight saving time, to move commuting times away from sunrise and sunset (Ellis et al, 2016). Despite the potential benefits of the implementation of this measure on koala conservation, careful consideration of the impact on diurnal wildlife is required.…”

“…However, any intervention applied seeking a population-level impact needs to be accompanied by a major commitment from the government to halt the further loss of koala habitat. An evaluation of management options would be needed including the exclusion of koala road passes, providing koala safe crossing, and compulsory traffic calming strategies (Dique, Thompson, Preece, Penfold et al, 2003, Smith, 1990, Ellis et al, 2016 based on detailed spatial analyses in areas where koala populations are most fragmented by road networks. Specifically, if future spatialtemporal analyses could incorporate background population-at-risk data obtained from the hotspots identified, this would aid in determining if these hotspots correspond to real risk for koalas or to confounders (e.g.…”