As part of the continuing effort to reduce the number of collisions between deer and vehicles, the Annual Deer-Vehicle Crash Reduction Symposium was held on October 29 at the New York State Department of Transportation in Schenectady.
College Station, TX (Vocus) November 9, 2007 -- Nationwide there are an estimated one million deer-vehicle crashes every year that account for more than $1 billion in damage.
As part of the continuing effort to reduce the number of collisions between deer and vehicles, the Annual Deer-Vehicle Crash Reduction Symposium was held on October 29 at the New York State Department of Transportation in Schenectady. Attendees from 15 states participated in this one-day symposium, which included a series of presentations by experts from throughout the United States.
The speakers at the meeting shared information about ongoing and completed work related to defining and reducing the deer-vehicle crash problem. Symposium speakers included Keith Knapp of the Deer-Vehicle Crash Information and Research Center (DVICR Center) at the Texas Transportation Institute, Mary Gray of the Federal Highway Administration, Patricia White of the Defenders of Wildlife, Patricia Cramer of Utah State University, Marcel Huijser of the Western Transportation Institute and David Jared of the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The meeting was organized by the Deer-Vehicle Crash Information and Research (DVCIR) Center. This is the only center that focuses solely on the deer-vehicle crash problem. The meeting was sponsored by the Southwest University Transportation Center, the Western Transportation Institute, and American Automobile Association (AAA) of Minnesota/Iowa. The website for the DVCIR Center and the related information clearinghouse is www.deercrash.com.
In addition to the symposium, a DVCIR Center business meeting was held. Discussions at the business meeting included a decision to consider funding research projects focused on the identification of deer-vehicle crash problem areas and the relationship between roadside vegetation issues and the occurrence of this type of incident. Future information sharing activities will focus on better defining the problem and summarizing recently completed and/or released deer-vehicle crash countermeasure discussions and research.
The DVCIR Center is funded by the Federal Highway Administration and eight departments of transportation. Members include Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin. The Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Natural and Human Environment is the lead office for the project.
###
Trackback URL: http://www.prweb.com/pingpr.php/SG9yci1Mb3ZlLUhvcnItWmV0YS1UaGlyLVplcm8=
|
