We contacted private transport companies and government departments that operated
fleets of similar vehicles travelling consistent routes over long distances in rural areas,
some fitted with Shu Roos and others not. A total of
31 fleet operators agreed to
participate in the study, which ran
from 1997 to 2000. We asked drivers to keep a log of
the number of collisions with kangaroos and wallabies over the total distance they
travelled, and whether or not they had a Shu Roo operating on the vehicle.
The vehicles
involved in the survey travelled an average of 49,612 km. and there was no significant
difference in distance travelled by vehicles with a Shu Roo and the controls (no Shu
Roo). Only 16% of vehicles hit a macropod (n = 26) over the survey period, and there
was
no significant difference in the proportion of vehicles with and without a Shu Roo
that hit macropods. The overall mean (± SE) rate of collisions with macropods was 10.86
± 3.52 hits km-6, and again there was no significant difference between vehicles with and
without a Shu Roo. Our study is the first systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of the
Shu Roo, covering long distances over a range of seasonal conditions, moon phases and
times of day. We conclude that t
he Shu Roo is not effective in reducing collisions with
macropods.
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