The Online Media Perspective on Animal and Vehicle Accidents in Brazilian Highways: a Matter of Safety?

Authors

  • Simone Rodrigues de Freitas Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC)
  • Leonardo Beltrão Barszcz Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v33i0.36910

Keywords:

road ecology, domestic animals, wildlife, security, deaths

Abstract

Wildlife-vehicle collisions are a concern for public security and biodiversity conservation. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the accidents caused by wildlife-vehicle collisions, analyzing the animals involved, the number of deceased and injured people, as well as the space and time distribution of accidents in Brazil. Therefore, we use as sampling method, news on accidents between vehicles and animals recorded in Brazil over a 5 years period, available on the web. We analyzed 125 accidents including 135 animals, 66 dead people, 166 injured people and 73 dead animals. The main result was that most of the accidents involved domestic animals, causing mainly injured people; however, accidents with wildlife caused more deceases, particularly involving capybaras. In addition, we discussed the most suitable mitigation measures and the economic sectors that could be interested in this issue.

Author Biographies

Simone Rodrigues de Freitas, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC)

Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC)

Leonardo Beltrão Barszcz, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC)

Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC)

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Published

2015-04-27

How to Cite

Freitas, S. R. de, & Barszcz, L. B. (2015). The Online Media Perspective on Animal and Vehicle Accidents in Brazilian Highways: a Matter of Safety?. Desenvolvimento E Meio Ambiente, 33. https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v33i0.36910

Issue

Vol. 33 (2015)

Section

Articles

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