Temporal patterns of moose-vehicle collisions with and without personal injuries

Abstract Collisions with wild ungulates are an increasing traffic safety issue in boreal regions. Crashes involving smaller-bodied deer species usually lead to vehicle damage only, whereas collisions with a large animal, such as the moose, increase the risk of personal injuries. It is therefore important to understand both the factors affecting the number of moose-vehicle collisions (MVCs) and the underlying causes that turn an MVC into an accident involving personal injuries or fatalities. As a basis for temporal mitigation measures, we examined the annual and monthly variation of MVCs with and without personal injuries. Using a 22-year-long (1990–2011) time series from Finland, we tested the effect of moose population density and traffic volume on the yearly number of all MVCs and those leading to personal injuries. We also examined the monthly distribution of MVCs with and without personal injuries, and contrasted the Finnish findings with collision data from Sweden (years 2008–2010) and Norway (years 2008–2011). Both moose population abundance indices and traffic volume were positively related to the yearly variation in the number of MVCs in Finland. The proportion of MVCs involving personal injuries decreased during our 22-year study period. The monthly distribution of all MVCs peaked during the autumn or winter depending on country, while MVCs involving personal injury peaked in summer. Our study indicates that efforts to reduce MVCs involving personal injuries need to address driver awareness and attitudes during summer, despite most MVCs occurring in autumn or winter.