Big Sky Times

The public is encouraged to help prevent vehicle collisions with animals seen on the road in Montana through the use of an app.

Passengers can record wildlife sightings through a new app called Wildlife Xing. The app can help people document what they saw and where it was, particularly if the sighting happens on the Hi-Line between Shelby and Glasgow.

"Probably every time we got out, we see quite a few of them on the side of the road," Jason Tibballs, a truck driver said, according to KPAX. "While on the busy season, we go probably four days, five days a week. So I think that'd be great. It would help us do our jobs without hitting deer. I've hit a couple of deer with my truck and that's cost a lot. It would be great for the trucking community. In 17 years of driving, I've probably hit four. It'd be a great help." 

Wildlife Xing, which includes observation tools such as how to recognize certain animals, is available to download on newer versions of iPhone and android phones. 

People who drive the Hi-Line frequently will be able to report more data to the app and mitigate further accidents. 

Montana has a 1 in 44 chance of a crash in terms of likeliness to hit an animal on the road, according to State Farm. State Farm agent Pam Hansen Alfred. said the majority of their "claims this time of year especially, are animal collisions."