"We know that wild animals are generally most active at dawn and dusk..."
- Paul Northey - RACV general manager of insurance
Ballarat is in the top 10 cities in Victoria for animal collision rates.
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Insurance data from RACV regarding animal collision hot spots in South West Victoria has Ballarat listed equal 10th in the state, alongside Whittlesea.
The report says Ballarat drivers filed 29 insurance claims for animal collision in 2014, down from 39 in 2013 – a drop of 26 per cent.
Bendigo is a clear leader of the statistic, with 60 claims relating to animal collision filed in 2014.
Heathcote is second with 48 claims from last year, with Sunbury in third on 41.
Figures also show that roads in Southern Grampians Shire have the highest risk for collisions with animals, followed by Glenelg Shire and the City of Greater Geelong.
RACV general manager of insurance Paul Northey said the number of insurance claims relating to collisions between vehicles and animals across Victoria decreased by 3.5 per cent (to 4561) compared to the previous year.
“We know that wild animals are generally most active at dawn and dusk and not surprisingly the majority of collisions involving kangaroos occurring around 6am, while wombat incidents peaked at 9pm,” Mr Northey said.
The data also showed that collisions could happen at any time during the year, although there was a large spike in the number of collisions involving wombats in August.
Wombats overtook dogs as the second most common animal involved in collision claims.
Kangaroos remain a clear number one hazard, with 3593 claims for roo damage made in 2014.
Meanwhile, Linton and Smythesdale rank second and third for animal collisions in the Golden Plains Shire, with eight and six claims filed respectively for 2014.
Beaufort tops the Pyrenees Shire’s standings with eight claims last year, with Skipton fifth on five claims and Snake Valley ninth on three claims.
“RACV received 3593 kangaroo-related claims, accounting for $15 million of the total $20 million paid to members as a result of animal collisions,” Mr Northey said.