America's highways allow people and products to travel to every corner of our nation. Along the way, these roads cross through the habitat of many native wildlife species. When these paths intersect, collisions can occur, and in greater numbers than most people realize. Based on the results of this study, there are an estimated one to two million collisions between cars and large animals every year in the U.S. This presents a real danger to human safety as well as wildlife survival. State and local transportation agencies are looking for ways to meet the needs of the traveling public, maintain human safety and conserve wildlife. Under Section 1119 (n) of the Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), the US Congress directed the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a national Wildlife Vehicle Collision (WVC) study. This study details the causes and impacts of wildlife vehicle collisions and identifies potential solutions to this growing safety problem.

The report focuses on mitigation methods that reduce the number of collisions between vehicles and large wildlife, such as deer, because these accidents present the greatest safety danger to travelers, and cause the most damage.