Community Bulletin
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Crossin’ the highway late last night, he shoulda looked left and he shoulda looked right. He didn’t see the station wagon car, the skunk got squashed and there you are….
Wildlife and roadways don’t mix. And with approximately 39,000 miles of highway, much of it rural, West Virginia is ground zero for collisions between cars and animals.
And when car meets animal in the middle of the road, animal loses.
You got your dead cat and you got your dead dog, on a moonlight night you got your dead toad frog….
West Virginia leads the nation in deer strikes — collisions between cars and deer.
According to State Farm Insurance, West Virginia drivers stand a 1 in 40 chance of hitting a deer or other animal on the road. That far exceeds the national average of about 1 in 160.
But deer aren’t the only four-legged road hazard. Other wildlife species West Virginia drivers may tangle with on the highway include raccoons, coyotes and a surprising number of bears.
Got your dead rabbit and your dead raccoon, the blood and the guts they’re gonna make you swoon….
When there’s a dead animal in the road, someone has to deal with it. Oftentimes, that someone is a West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) transportation worker.
The WVDOH treats dead animals like any other road obstruction, prioritizing high-danger areas like travel lanes on interstates over the shoulders of rural roads.
If a dead animal is a hazard to traffic, it will be removed. But the WVDOH will not go into your yard to pick up a dead deer, or pick up a deer that isn’t physically in the road. Dead animals in ditch lines may be covered in lime.
If you see a dead animal in the road, you can call the SWAT hotline at 1-833-WVROADS, email WVDOTCommunications@wv.gov, file a report online or contact your local WVDOH field office.
You got your dead skunk in the middle of the road, dead skunk in the middle of the road, dead skunk in the middle of the road, stinkin’ to high heaven….
— Loudon Wainwright III
