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John Hollenhorst ReportingProf. John Bissonette, Utah State University: "I mean, people are at risk on the road and a lot of people don't realize it."
The threat is an old one that careful drivers are conscious of -- deer on the highway, and researchers are saying it's a growing and deadly problem. The insurance industry estimates that crashes between vehicles and deer cost us over a billion dollars a year, and that doesn't count the human cost.
Parley's Canyon is one of the areas where it tends to happen, places where highways run into the mountains, bringing speeding vehicles into deer country. With more and more highways and more and more cars, the dangers are increasing.
Even on Halloween we don't usually associate deer with death, but in fact, they kill nearly 200 people a year in the US when people crash into them.
Dr. Patricia Cramer, Research Ecologist, Utah State University: "And so it is a real problem that can happen to any of us."
Patricia Cramer is studying the problem with John Bissonette at Utah State.
Dr. John Bissonette, Utah State University: "This is something people should be concerned about if they drive a car."
Or a motorcycle; Sandy's Police Chief died several years ago when his bike collided with a deer. Utah averages three human deaths each year in deer-versus-vehicle accidents. From the deer's point of view, the numbers are truly stunning. Estimates of deer killed by Utah drivers range as high as 20,000 a year, comparable to the number shot by hunters.
Dr. Patricia Cramer: "I think we see these signs on the side of the road that show a deer crossing and we say, 'Oh we see them everywhere.' And we pay very little attention to them."
They've been studying strategies to reduce crashes, like specially designed pavement-level deer crossings near Park City.
Dr. John Bissonette: "They simply do not work. The traffic volume is too great and the speeds are too high."
Deer whistles attached to cars don't seem to work either, according to the insurance industry. What does work, they say, are underpasses and overpasses which they'd like to see designed into every highway project in key wildlife areas.
Dr. John Bissonette: "We're talking about a sizeable investment. But if you amortize the cost of the investment against the cost of not doing it, and you include human mortalities, I think that puts it into perspective."
Another promising strategy is to have warning signs tied into electronic sensors; they actually light up to warn drivers when deer are present. A system like that was just installed in Arizona; Utah may join the experiment soon.
