BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. — Where do most collisions with wild animals happen in Maryland?
State officials will be mapping hot spots for wildlife-related crashes, and add wildlife-passage designs into highway projects, as part of a federal grant they just got.
Maryland's State Highway Administration got $387,424 toward improving wildlife-vehicle safety, announced the U.S. Department of Transportation today.
Maryland is one of just 16 states chosen for this pilot program for 2024-2025.
The animal most involved in Maryland's crashes is, by far, white-tailed deer.
In 2017, deer-related crashes cost more than $100 million, according to State Farm Insurance, as reported by DNR's white-tailed deer management plan. There were 33,000 such crashes statewide that year.
Maryland has also seen (rare) crashes with black bears, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, beavers, turtles, raccoons, opossums, skunks, squirrels, owls, hawks, and other large birds.
