00474359

Component

http://onlinepubs.trb.org...trr/1986/1075/1075-009.pdf

https://scholar.google.co...acks&publication_year=1986

The increase in deer-vehicle accidents has created a demand for preventive measures. A red reflector system (Swareflex wildlife reflectors) that reflects vehicle headlights to the side of the road has been claimed to frighten deer from the highways because red is instinctively frightening to the deer. Using penned deer, this research examined the premise that red is instinctively frightening to the white-tailed deer by measuring the effectiveness of red reflectors in keeping deer from crossing a line defined by the reflectors. No evidence was found that the deer avoid the area marked by the reflectors, or that they exhibit any other behavior that suggests that red is instinctively frightening to them. The results are considered in the light of other reports that vary in the degree to which they suggest that the reflectors are effective on the highway. It is argued that, where they are effective, the reflectors may have influenced the behavior of the drivers rather than the behavior of the deer

Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Landscape and Environmental Design. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved

01418784

Strieter, John R

pp 35-43

1986

Transportation Research Record

0309040698

Print

Figures (6) ; Maps (1) ; References (15)

Behavior; Deer; Drivers; Measures of effectiveness; Prevention; Red; Reflectorized materials; Safety

Effectiveness

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; I73: Traffic Control

TRIS, TRB

Oct 31 1987 12:00AM

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