Posted on 12/21/2017 11:43:27 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
VALDOSTA – Any driver who's hit a deer or spotted one standing on the shoulder of the road should appreciate the new fencing along portions of Interstate 75.
Old fence with a height of four or five feet has being replaced with eight-foot game fence in various locations in Crisp, Turner, Tift and Lowndes counties through small Georgia Department of Transportation maintenance service contracts, according to a DOT press release.
Fence replacement just concluded in Lowndes County and must be inspected by the department. The other counties are complete.
Contractors were also asked to use wire to fill in bottom gaps at low spots to prevent deer from getting under.
Given a space of a foot or 18 inches, deer will "lay on their belly and scoot right under it. They’re pretty agile animals," said Charlie Killmaster, Georgia Department of Natural Resources state deer biologist.
Last year, 15,479 motor vehicle collisions with animals were reported on all routes statewide. Those specified as collisions with deer totaled 8,263. However, not all agencies/officers report in the same manner so some of the 7,216 collisions with "animals" may also have been deer, according to the DOT.
The collisions resulted in 969 injuries and 16 fatalities statewide. Those are just the collisions that were reported through law enforcement.
"It’s nothing for a deer to jump a five-foot fence. The eight-foot fence may reduce the number of deer that get onto the highway, which can prevent crashes and injuries to motorists," Georgia DOT District Maintenance Engineer Scott Chambers said.
While deer can jump eight feet, "they generally don't unless they're pressured," Killmaster said. The fence height also reduces the chance of a pedestrian accessing the interstate from private property.
We are at the end of the deer breeding period, which is when most collisions occur, Killmaster said. Each year he stresses the importance of paying extra attention for deer during October, November and December.
"If you're on the road and spot a deer, slow down. Don't honk your horn or do anything to try and get the deer to cross the road," Killmaster advised.
Also watch for more than one deer; it's often the second deer that gets hit, he said.
Out here in Los Angeles we used to have the most beautiful landscaped freeways. Not all areas were like this, but enough were that the drive was somewhat pleasant.
Then the move came for everyone living by a freeway to get the government to install walls on both sides of the freeways. Why it was too loud.
Never-mind that these folks knew what they were getting into when they bought their homes. No, now everyone had to help them out.
Now we drive down these concrete groves with cement on three sides of us, no views whatsoever.
Driving fatigue is more frequent now.
How about moving the “Deer Crosing” signs?
Just so long as the Deer pay for it I am all for it.
Same thing happened in NC when people moved into homes bordering hog farms.
Excellent!
;-)
LOL, I think I smell the problem from here...
The same thing happened in Virginia Beach when people built houses at the ends of runways at Oceana Naval Air Station - except the Navy didn’t give a sh!t and their protestations fell on deaf ears.
How about moving the “Deer Crosing” signs?
Doesn’t matter, the Deer flunked reading.
Gives a whole new meaning to “venison on the grille”.
CC
Interesting. They are doing what they complain the wall will do - restricting animal movement.
Depends on how hungry you are. :)
Depends on how hungry you are. :)
That damn “Common Core” again...
“That damn “Deer Common Core” again...
My buddy John sent me a link this morning from an Iowa NBC affiliate reporting the Iowa Department of Transporation was reminding people that a deer crossing sign is a reminder for people, not deer…Lord, help us…
From the article:
“The Iowa Department of Transportation took to social media this week to clarify the meaning of deer crossing signs on the highway.
Iowa DOT says they regularly have people asking why they don’t place deer crossing signs where it is safer for deer to cross the road.
Iowa DOT’s response:
‘Deer can’t read signs. Drivers can. This sign isn’t intended to tell deer where to cross, it’s for drivers to be alert that deer have been in this area in the past.’”
My first thought after reading this was these people are allowed to vote. Frightening for the institution of democracy.
My second thought was I swore I’d heard something like this before. Indeed, there was an incident in Indiana in 2011 when a letter was sent to a local newspaper and published.
The letter read:
“A lot of deer get hit by cars west of Crown Point on U.S. 231. There are too many cars to have the deer crossing here. The deer crossing sign needs to be moved to a road with less traffic.” – Tim Abbott, Crown
Point
In the era of fake news and Internet hoaxes, I decided to visit Snopes to research the veracity of this whole deal. Do people really think these signs are there to guide deer? A lot of folks are ignorant about wildlife, so it wouldn’t shock me…but still.
Here’s the verdict from Snopes:
“This letter was indeed submitted by Crown Point, Indiana, resident Tim Abbott and published by the Munster, Indiana, Times on 19 August 2011, and the missive garnered a good deal of public attention after it was read on the air by Tonight Show host Jay Leno in September 2011 and again when it was posted on the Facebook page of Star Trek actor George Takei in June 2012.
http://goodhunt.blogs.theledger.com/23512/creating-deer-crossing-sign-controversy/
The Georgia deer were simply doing the work that Alabama deer just wouldn’t do...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.