Drivers' attitudes toward wildlife‐vehicle collisions with reptiles and other taxa

Wildlife‐vehicle collisions threaten most wildlife taxa as road and traffic densities increase across landscapes. While the biophysical effects of roads on wildlife are well‐studied, research on psychosocial factors that influence wildlife‐vehicle collisions remains sparse. Road characteristics and species behavior are often used to estimate the frequency of collisions, but drivers' attitudes and intentions toward striking animals may put persecuted species at an elevated risk. To inform management and education of road impacts to wildlife, especially reptiles, we surveyed patrons of Jekyll Island ( JI ), Georgia, USA : to (1) measure their degree of concern for broad impacts of wildlife‐vehicle collisions; (2) gauge their degree of disfavor with hitting animals of different taxa with a vehicle; (3) understand specific predictors influencing attitudes toward hitting deer, turtles and snakes. Respondents were more concerned with personal safety and impacts to wildlife than damage to vehicles. They were most upset with collisions involving large mammals (bears and deer), domesticated animals (dogs and cats) and turtles, and they were least upset with hitting snakes. Respondents that showed concern for wildlife and had visited JI nature centers were more likely to be upset with hitting each taxa. Our results support previous psychosocial findings regarding negative attitudes toward snakes but additionally demonstrate that these attitudes can remain alongside positive attitudes toward other taxa, such as mammals and turtles. These findings can inform our ability to predict the frequency of wildlife‐vehicle collisions and tailor conservation messages toward taxa when negative attitudes exist.