Moose accidents on Grand Falls-Windsor man's hit list

The death of a teenager last week has a Grand Falls-Windsor man renewing his crusade to end highway-moose accidents.  

Eugene Nippard knows first-hand the horrors of colliding with a moose after an accident six years ago that left him with two broken arms and feeling lucky to have walked away with his life.

"Came out of the trees, right next to the Trans-Canada. I didn't have a chance. The moose came through my windshield," Nippard said, speaking after the 17-year-old motorist died last Friday when his car hit a moose on the Trans-Canada Highway near Norris Arm.

Nippard's own accident inspired him to successfully lobby the government to cut back the brush along many major roads, but he said that accomplishment isn't enough.

He is assembling a committee of people to work at keeping moose off the roads, including pushing the provincial government to hold a much larger hunt.

"The number of moose is the big problem. We've got moose out there like land mines. Eventually you're going to strike one if you're travelling," he said.

Nippard said he will also lobby to have fences built alongside highways that have the biggest problems.  

A spokesperson with the province's Transportation Department has already ruled out fences because they are costly and ineffective in Newfoundland and Labrador's climate. There is too much snow in the winter and moose can easily jump the fence.

However, Nippard said people need to be protected whatever the cost, and has vowed to keep going until he gets the government onside.