Help CDOT With Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions And Cash In

CDOT is offering up $15,000 to anyone with a solution.

How many deer or other wildlife have you hit with a car or truck? I've hit three deer (two in one accident), a turkey, and a raccoon. Growing up in a rural part of Missouri and having spent a considerable amount of time behind the wheel of a big rig, it was nearly impossible for me not to have a collision or two with critters. If you're wondering how I hit two deer in one accident, it actually could have been much worse. It was just before dawn on a rual streach of a 4-lane highway when a dozen or more whitetail deer began to scamper across the highway. Driving an tractor-trailer at highway speeds I swerved to miss the herd, which would have caused a major accident and perhaps injured or even killed myself, only to take out a couple stragglers at the back of the pack. The truck had only minor damage to the front fender. It was a scary situation for sure.

The wildlife-vehicle collision problem in Colorado is a big one that CDOT is out to solve. They've tried several ideas with little success. There were the deer warning signs, variable message signs, and special nighttime speed limits, all with little benefit. "Over half of our deaths on our roadways are on rural roads and this challenge is: How do we harness technology to be able to solve some of these challenges?," says CDOT spokeswoman Amy Ford.

They're asking for your help. It's called "The Rural Road Safety Challenge." "We're asking innovators and technologists and others to come to us where they have an opportunity to win cash prizes essentially and help us fix this problem" continued Ford. If you or your company come up with a solution, CDOT will reward your efforts with a cool $15,000 in cash! The ideas will be judged on strategy, feasibility, and by a committee of state representatives, wildlife services persons, and the Colorado Department Of Transportation.

Submit your ideas HERE. The winner will be selected in February of 2019.

Credit: Fox 31