Animal Detection System Installed on Idaho Highway to Reduce Collisions

Radar is being used to help reduce accidents between vehicles and wildlife along a stretch of U.S. 95 in northern Idaho.

The system is being installed along a 2-mile stretch of the highway where 75 percent of reported accidents in the last five years have been wildlife-vehicle collisions.

The wildlife detection system was developed by Sloan Security Technologies of Boise.

It uses Doppler radar to detect animals approaching the roadway, setting off flashing lights to warn approaching drivers to slow down.

Rob Ament, of the Western Transportation Institute in Bozeman, tells The Spokesman-Review that proper wildlife detection systems can reduce collisions by up to 85 percent.

If the system reduces accidents in Boundary County, it could be adapted for use in other parts of Idaho and the West.