{"id":389148,"date":"2026-01-05T07:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T07:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/389148\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T07:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T07:49:09","slug":"how-to-avoid-winter-moose-collisions-opp-advises-drivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/389148\/","title":{"rendered":"How to avoid winter moose collisions, OPP advises drivers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ontario Provincial Police say fresh moose tracks near highways are a warning to northern drivers. Officers report multiple sightings amid frigid weather. <\/p>\n

Ontario Provincial Police are warning drivers to be extremely vigilant on northern roads as plummeting temperatures are driving moose toward highways in search of salt and easier travel.<\/p>\n

The warning comes after officers observed significant wildlife activity, including groups of moose, on Highway 527<\/a> and other routes. <\/p>\n

In a video<\/a> posted to social media<\/a>, OPP Sgt. Kyle Arnold pointed out clear moose tracks from a patrol perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the frigid temperatures, the moose are on the move,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been numerous sightings on Highway 527 with four or five moose at a time on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dangerous, unpredictable presence<\/p>\n

OPP emphasized the severe risk of a collision with a moose, an animal that can weigh up to 1,200 pounds. <\/p>\n

Police said such encounters are most dangerous at night when visibility is poor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey run, often crossing highways in the dark where they\u2019re almost impossible to see until it\u2019s too late,\u201d OPP wrote in a social media post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To help drivers identify potential danger, police listed specific signs that indicate moose may be near the roadway:<\/p>\n

moose tracks in the snow along the shoulder,official wildlife warning signs,any movement in the roadside ditches andstreaks of fresh salt on the pavement, as moose are known to lick it.\"\"Bull Moose Licking Salt in Northern Ontario An undated photo of a bull moose licking salt on a roadway in northern Ontario. (File photo\/View from my window\/ Facebook) (E.I.MYRAAS) <\/p>\n

Arnold connected these signs directly to driver action.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you see tracks \u2026 on the side of the road on your travels, that\u2019s a sign to slow down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Defensive driving for winter conditions<\/p>\n

OPP\u2019s post outlined key defensive driving techniques for current conditions. At night, drivers are advised to:<\/p>\n

Use high beams whenever it is safe and oncoming traffic allows,continuously scan both sides of the road ahead andproactively reduce speed during extreme cold snaps.<\/p>\n

The overarching message from OPP is a simple one: drive carefully.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne small choice keeps you safe and keeps them alive,\u201d wrote Arnold in the social media post.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrive safe this winter and keep your eyes on the ditches,\u201d he added in the video.<\/p>\n

RELATED STORIES:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ontario Provincial Police say fresh moose tracks near highways are a warning to northern drivers. Officers report multiple…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[20294,49,48,18137,56290,18654,55110,155106,13711,44,905,42368,154370,165126,165127,16501,5097,4444,1133],"class_list":["post-389148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-avoid","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cold","tag-drivers","tag-driving","tag-highway","tag-highways","tag-moose","tag-news","tag-ontario","tag-road","tag-roads","tag-roadway","tag-roadways","tag-salt","tag-temperatures","tag-warning","tag-weather"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}