There are – it’s sometimes said – two types of drivers in Virginia – those who have hit a deer and those who haven’t hit a deer yet.
“Virginia sees over 60,000 wildlife-vehicle collisions annually, and it costs us an average of $41 thousand per incident," says Delegate Shelly Simonds.
She thinks this state may finally do something about it – setting up a fund to plan and install highway underpasses for wild animals.
"Just one underpass with fencing can really reduce car crashes in a hotspot where there are a lot of deer crossing by about 96%."
House Bill 597 is now headed for the Senate, and Simonds says it won’t mean an increase in taxes.
"It is a very tight budget year, so what we’ve decided to do is give people the opportunity to donate to a fund when they do transactions at our Department of Motor Vehicles, when they pay their taxes, they can make voluntary donations."
North Carolina, which has a similar system, raised four million dollars. Simonds thinks it’s a good investment for donors, saving thousands of dollars in car repairs and lives.
