Deer-Vehicle Crash Information Clearinghouse Projects/Initiatives 2005 Fall Meeting Madison, WI October 24-25, 2005 Keith K. Knapp UW-Madison Deer-Vehicle Crash Information Clearinghouse

PRESENTATION CONTENT Introduce Clearinghouse Origins and Organization Provide Clearinghouse Objectives Define the DVC Problem Regionally Discuss the Existing/Ongoing Projects/Initiatives and Information Sharing Activities of the DVCIC Briefly Describe Other DVCIC Research/Outreach Activities

DVCIC ORIGIN Deer Vehicle Collision Reduction Working Group Conference (2000) Partners: DOT, DNR, and Sand County Working Group Recommendations:  Promising Pathways  Center for Research Excellence  Deer-Vehicle Crash Information Clearinghouse

DVCIC ORGANIZATION WisDOT Funded - Starting in July Based at UW But Regional Participation: IA, IL, MI, MN, and WI Each State: DOT and DNR Rep. on Technical Advisory Committee Advisory Board Members from Each State and Range of Related Professions

DVCIC OBJECTIVES Compile Current DVC-Related Knowledge Develop/Promote Standard DVC- Related Research and DVC Data Collection/Information Management Approaches

DVCIC OBJECTIVES (Cont.) Collect, Evaluate, and Analyze Regional DVC-Related Data Create/Update DVC-Related Data Information System Distribute Useful DVC-Related Information/Findings

DVCIC OBJECTIVES (Cont.) Maintain/Update Information Sources and Knowledge Exchange Long-Term:  Contribute to a Decrease in the Frequency and Severity of Deer-Vehicle Crashes (i.e., Useful Information and Monitoring)  “Destination of Choice”

MORE SIMPLY Clearly Define the Significance of the Problem - Safety and Cost Distribute What we Really Know and Don’t Know about Countermeasures (in an Unbiased Manner) Help Folks make More Informed Decisions with Respect to Countermeasure Installation More Effective Use of Limited Funds

NOT A NEW PROBLEM… 1929

REGIONAL NUMBERS Notes: 1) Deer or Animal Crashes. 2) Reported versus Estimated. 3) Different Min. Reporting Thresholds 4) $1,700/Crash Vehicle Damage.

DVCIC PROJECTS/INITIATIVES Countermeasure Toolbox (Completed TRR)  Objective: Provide Detail Needed to Support/Defend DVC Countermeasure Application Decisions and Choices  Definitive Studies of Countermeasure DVC- Reduction Effectiveness are Rare  Planned Update Soon Report on DVC-Related Gaps/Needs  Ongoing Effort  Will Use Results of This Meeting

PROJECTS/INITIATIVES (Cont.) Data Management and Information Survey (Completed - TRB Meeting, ICOET)  Share DVC-Related Data Characteristics and Collection/Management Procedures Used by Individual States with DVCIC Partners and Beyond  Allow Proper DVC-Related Data Comparisons Between and Within States  Allow Proper DVC-Related Data Combinations within Region Annually and from Year to Year within States

PROJECTS/INITIATIVES (Cont.) Statewide and Regional Ten-Year Trend Analysis of Deer-Vehicle Crash and Related Data  Decade of Deer Population Estimates, Carcass Removal, Crashes, Injury, and Fatality Data Considered for Five States  Ongoing Effort Draft Available Soon (Fall 2005) Ongoing Wide Ranging Information- Sharing Activities

INFO. SHARING ACTIVITES Numerous Presentations to Range of Audiences  Local, State, Regional, National, and International  Examples: TRB, ICOET, TAC, Traffic Records, Lifesavers, Congressional Briefing, Inter. Geometric Design Symposium, and Inter. Mammalogical Congress Numerous Media Interviews, Press Conferences  Local, National, and International  Examples: Green Bay Gazette, CBC Television & Radio, CNN, USA Today, and Reader’s Digest Annual Regional Data Collection Summary Annual Deer-Vehicle Crash Symposium Webpage (

THE WEBSITE Website:  Contains DVC Data, All DVCIC Documents, and Presentations  Estimated hits per day  Estimated 15 Users per day  Working on More Links to Other Groups/Projects Addition of Driver’s Hint Page and Existing PSAs, Videos, and Audio

OTHER ACTIVITIES Two Student Staff Project Reports  Safety-Based Guidelines for the Installation of Deer Crossing Signs (Accepted ITE Journal on the Web)  Development of a Countywide Deer- Vehicle Crash Frequency Model (2005 TRB Annual Meeting Paper, To be submitted to ASCE Transportation Journal)

OTHER ACTIVITIES (Cont.) NCHRP Team - “Evaluation of the Use and Effectiveness of Wildlife Crossings” activities  Evaluation of Reported Crashes and Roadway Geometrics (Statewide/Bayesian)  Ongoing Before/After U.S. Crossing Reported Crash Safety Analysis  Spatial Analysis of Iowa Carcass and Reported Crash Locations  Example of Geographical Crash Data and Ecological Database Overlays NCHRP Synthesis Panel (Animal-Vehicle Collision Data Collection)

OTHER ACTIVITIES (Cont.) DVCIR Center Pooled Fund Effort  DVCIC Should Expand its Mission to Include Properly Increasing the “State-of-the-Knowledge” [i.e., “Don’t Continue to Repeat the Same Mistakes.”]  Deer-Vehicle Crash Information and Research Center (DVCIR Center) Continue and Expand Upon Information and Data Collection and Dissemination Activities of the DVCIC Define, Support, and Guide a Research Strategy of Properly Designed Projects to Define/Reduce Problem Provide the Long-Term Strategic Focal Point Necessary to help Reduce the DVC Problem  Currently 5 States have Joined (Also in Discussions with Several Others)

Questions and Discussion Website: