Defensive driving urged in moose season

PORTLAND – Infrared sensors and highway fencing may be two options for reducing the number of moose crashes on Maine roads, but police say the best way to avoid hitting a moose is through good, old-fashioned defensive driving.

“The moose are going to be where they are going to be, and you can’t do anything about it,” Maine State Police Chief Craig Poulin said. “I think some common sense things that don’t cost anything would serve people well.”

He said defensive driving would prevent most vehicle crashes, including collisions with moose.

Highway officials are exploring options to keep moose off the highways, but also stressed the importance of careful driving.

“We are asking people to use their high beams when practical and to control their speed,” said Gerry Audibert of the Maine Department of Transportation. “We are looking into other options, but we don’t expect anything significant to come along soon.”

Maine last year received a $50,000 grant to try out a system of infrared sensors that would trigger road lighting in areas with high moose traffic. But implementing it would have cost the state more than $1 million, Audibert said, and a pilot project never got off the ground.

Roadside fencing has been rejected in most cases as too expensive and restrictive to hunters and snowmobilers who travel the woods near roadways, he says.

Researchers are looking into plants that moose find unappetizing, investigating whether growing those plants along the roadside would reduce the number of accidents.

Experts estimate about 29,000 moose live in Maine. Because of their dark brown fur and long legs, they are difficult to see at night, and their size means they pose a greater threat to motorists than other animals.

They are particularly dangerous in the springtime, when hunger and flies drive them out of the woods and onto the edge of highways. While drivers may feel moose pose a lesser risk in southern Maine, six recent crashes south of Freeport highlighted the danger to drivers throughout the state.