Film targets moose-related crashes Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife addresses highway hazard

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In driver education, motorists are taught the dangers of alcohol, wet and winter road conditions, driving too fast and driving tired. Now they are learning the horrible repercussions of moose accidents from the film “Hidden Hazards.”

This spring, the general public also will learn of the devastation in such accidents through pamphlets that will be distributed to rest stops along Interstate 95 by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Gene Dumont, DIFW management supervisor, said Ursus Productions, which made the video, is working on the pamphlets that will detail the horrific damage moose can cause to an automobile and human life – and how the rate of accidents has risen dramatically.

In the mid-1980s there were 150-200 moose-related car accidents a year in Maine. From 1996 through 1998, there was an average of 700.

While it has become near folklore in Maine that driving involves having to watch for moose, what is not widely known is that victims of such accidents face a slim chance of walking away unscathed.

A motorist can hit a moose anywhere in Maine, at any time of day, going any speed. What happens next is pure tragedy, as victims of moose-related car accidents tell in “Hidden Hazards.”

“I have literally seen people decapitated and crushed while still in their seats,” Maine state police officer Shawn Currie says on “Hidden Hazards.”

The video presents testimonies from people such as Cindy Lincoln who have lost family members. Lincoln’s husband Steve died in a moose accident in 1995. It also documents survivors whose lives were changed.

Gloria Brawn survived a moose accident but was left paralyzed after the moose jumped on the car she and her husband, Arthur, were traveling in at only 5 mph.

“I spent my whole life in that area. I’m used to seeing moose,” Brawn tells. “But I never had one do what that one did. It just jumped out and jumped up on the roof. If you see a moose, stop. Don’t try to go around it. Stop and let him go. And also, don’t think that it can’t happen to you.”

Dumont said the reasons for the rise in moose accidents are because people are driving too fast at night and driving beyond their headlights. That is, they were going too fast to be able to brake by the time a moose appeared in their headlights.

“It was not so much that moose were coming out of the woods,” Dumont said. “Once people saw the moose, it was too late.”

In the period the DIFW studied (1996-98), there were nearly 15,000 animal-related car accidents spread throughout Maine’s 16 counties. In that span, there were eight fatalities resulting from moose accidents.

“You can hit one from Portland to Van Buren and everywhere in between,” says Cathy McBreairty of Caribou, who lost her mother in a moose accident that occurred just outside of Portland.

In the three years studied, no one died in a collision with any other animal.

Maine moose folklore also tells of a gentle, majestic animal. While that can be true, the DIFW video highlights lesser-known characteristics of the animal.

A moose’s dark color and the fact its eyes, unlike deer, do not reflect light make it extremely difficult to see moose at night. Its height is what makes the creature so dangerous to motorists.

The bottom of a moose’s chest is about three feet off the ground, causing it to roll into the windshield when struck. Given a cow weighs an average 800 pounds and a bull can weigh up to 1,200 pounds, the damage and chance of injury are tremendous.

Worse still is the fact a moose will stand its ground when facing an oncoming automobile.

“The moose is the largest herbivore in North America,” Dumont said. “There are few predators that it fears. Its defensive mechanism is to just stand. It is not afraid.”

Maine motorists should take note that November is the peak of the rut with deer and the time you are most likely to hit one, while June is the month moose leave the woods to escape insects, and when they are most likely to be seen in the road.

The DIFW estimates there are 30,000-35,000 moose in Maine. While the lottery for the moose hunt went up to 3,000 permits this year, the department is waiting to complete a moose census before increasing the permit numbers.

The task force of Maine state agencies was formed to find ways to reduce moose collisions two years ago. Dumont said that while it will complete its Legislature-assigned duties this spring, its work evaluating the relationship between Maine’s roads and wildlife habitat will continue.

“We’ve searched literature across the U.S. and Canada, and actually across the world,” Dumont said. “There are methods used such as whistles on bumpers and special lights in the road. The only thing we’ve seen in literature that has demonstrated to reduce accidents is tall fencing and highway lighting, but that is very expensive. But not beyond what can be done in the United States. Some of that is done in the U.S. now.”

Outdoor Calendar

Honor students ski free at Sunday River. As part of a program involving 122 schools, 15,000 middle and high school honor roll students will get free lift tickets.

The Honor Roll program was initiated earlier this fall. Recipients of the vouchers have a choice of four weekend days in January.

For information, call 824-5243.

Kicking off the season opening of the halfpipe at Sugarloaf will be the Bud Light and Palmer Snowboards Expo on Saturday.

The newly unveiled Superpipe, boasting a height of 15 feet and a width of 50 feet, will be used to demonstrate snowboarding tricks.

Deirdre Fleming covers outdoor sports and recreation for the NEWS. She can be reached at 990-8250 or at dfleming@bangordailynews.net.