You may have noticed that there are a lot more deceased animals on the side of our roads. The road kill numbers have been increasing significantly over the last few years. 10 million animals die every year approximately. This is leaving many of us to wonder why. 

There are about 6,500 miles of road made every year which 68% of this is in remote areas that were mostly nature filled. This has caused much habitat loss for many animals. One major problem with these roads is that animals must cross it to reach the other part of their habitat. Many of these animals will attempt to cross the road and fail and the others that don’t will stay isolated in an area creating little genetic diversity in the species and eventually extinction from all of the issues that will follow that. There have been efforts to mitigate the issue like building animal bridges and tunnels that go over or under the road but they still aren’t widespread enough to make a change. 

Using your phone while driving increases the rate of hitting an animal 23% more likely. Most people don’t want to hit an animal. The average cost for repairs after hitting a deer is $6,617, $17,483 for elk, and moose is $30,760. The moose is more than the average used car price. 

Hopefully this information will keep you off of your phone while you drive.