Australia’s kangaroos may soon hop a little safer thanks to innovative new Volkswagen (VW) technology designed to help reduce the number of kangaroos hit by automobiles.
Every year, over 10,000 kangaroos are hit by moving vehicles, resulting in injuries and deaths of both these magnificent marsupials as well as humans. In fact, approximately 90 percent of all Australia’s wildlife collisions insurance claims involve kangaroos.
Kangaroos are similar in size to North American deer. Like deer, kangaroos are active at night when it’s harder to see, and they often dash across roads before drivers can respond.
To help protect kangaroos, Volkswagen is working with the University of Melbourne and the Australian organization Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) to create the “RooBadge” — a sound emitter for cars that warns wildlife to move away from the impending vehicle.
The RooBadge is a device that attaches behind the vehicle’s VW emblem. It creates a noise specifically designed to warn kangaroos that danger is near so that they run away from the road, according to a News Atlas report.
Early testing using domesticated kangaroos on golf courses confirmed that certain sounds replicating other wildlife, like dingoes, successfully deterred kangaroos from moving toward the sound.
The tests also showed that the sound could be heard from a good distance away when driving 62 mph.
As researchers continue to perfect the technology, they hope to eventually use the vehicle’s GPS technology to automatically select warning sounds tailored to which species are in the specific location.
There are also plans to create RooBadges that could fit on any vehicle brand and RooBadges for North American and European deer.
Lady Freethinker commends Volkswagen on their efforts to save the lives of countless animals and humans across the globe.
