In 1998 it was estimated that one million vertebrates were killed on U.S. roads every day, many of them amphibians such as frogs, toads, and salamanders. With traffic volumes increasing since then, the global scale of road-kill is severe, and additional deaths occur at unfenced construction sites and railways. Most salamander deaths happen during migrations between breeding pools and terrestrial habitats.

Salamanders and newts show strong site fidelity, returning to the same pools each spring, often crossing roads in the process. One Canadian study recorded over 30,000 amphibian deaths in just four years on a three-kilometre stretch of road, while research in Massachusetts predicted local extinctions of Spotted Salamanders within 25 years due to high road-kill rates. Construction sites also pose serious risks, underlining the need for effective exclusion fencing.