Deer Crossing Road Signs Slowly Disappearing

With our fast-paced lifestyle who takes the time to read road signs these days?   Seriously, as you venture down the highway do you really pay attention to all the road signs in the ditch meant to inform, warn or otherwise direct you on your safe journey on the highways and byways?   Apparently not enough people are heeding the message on some signs so the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MDOT) has decided to do away with certain road signs.   It might be a radical approach, but honestly I haven’t heard many complaints about it quite yet.

That’s right.   The fact is researchers are discovering that the leaping deer road sign meant to warn motorists they are venturing into an area with a higher than average likelihood of a car/deer accident just isn’t fulfilling the purpose it was intended to serve.   As people drive they are bombarded with so many signs that eventually it just becomes another sign that blurs by in the peripheral vision.   And even more importantly, with the growing deer population in Minnesota, as well as in most states, you’re just as likely to hit a deer with your vehicle where there wasn’t signage to warn of the danger…so in that case what purpose does such a sign really accomplish anyway?

The trouble with deer is that when you see a sign, you almost never see a deer. Pretty soon, drivers will stop believing the signs.

“Warnings mean nothing without an actual threat,” said Curtis Hammond, a researcher with the University of Minnesota.

Faced with the information that the signs don’t really work, the state decided it was time to stop the buck.

“We are the first state to officially say we aren’t putting them up anymore,” said Bob Weinholzer with MnDOT.

Weinholzer led the state’s decision to not install any new deer crossing signs. All existing signs will stay up until they wear out, even though the state ranks sixth in the nation for deer crashes.

Fact is I’m not completely saddened to see the demise of these archaic signs.   For years I have wondered who decided to erect the signs in the locations they picked anyway.   Just from personal experience in driving the roads in my area, it’s my opinion the signs have often been poorly placed.   The MDOT states they put the signs in places where the Minnesota DNR recommends…but the decision makers obviously aren’t always making choices based on any first-hand knowledge of deer crossing tendencies in local areas.

Personally, I’m becoming more of an advocate of just leaving the dead, decaying carcasses of deer along the roadside.   For me, when I see a dead deer laying just off the road it does much more to remind me of the possibility of deer in the area than some suggestive bright yellow sign.   Besides, the dead deer might as well serve some purpose rather than being quickly hauled off to the landfill.   Forget the fact that the decaying process is grotesque and not aesthetically pleasing to most motorists.   The impact of this message would likely be much more noticeable.

What are your thoughts on the effectiveness of these deer crossing warning signs?   Do you think their use really makes a difference in most situations?   I’m anxious to hear your comments on this issue.

2006 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction without Prior Permission.