Welcome to the online home of the Deer-Vehicle Crash Information Clearinghouse (DVCIC) at the University of Minnesota Center for Excellence in Rural Safety, in partnership with the Texas Transportation Institute. The DVCIC, established at the University of Wisconsin, is now funded and part of the Deer-Vehicle Crash Information and Research Center (DVCIR Center). Check out the new Pooled Fund section of this website for more information.
The DVCIR Center pooled fund project was created to continue and expand the data collection, research evaluation, and information exchange tasks completed by the DVCIC. It has also defined and will fund updates to this website, annual committee meetings, and deer-vehicle crash reduction research.
DVCIR Center members currently include the Department of Transportation from Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin. The lead agency is the Federal Highway Administration Office of Project Development and Environmental Review.
Information about becoming a pooled fund member can be found in the Pooled Fund section of this website.
The DVCIC and DVCIR Center are excellent focal-point resources for practitioners trying to find better information and methods connected to the problem of deer-vehicle crashes. They are a great location for anyone looking for information related to deer-vehicle crashes.
NEWS and NOTES:
Recent Project Reports being Considered for Toolbox Updates
It has been approximately five years since the Deer-Vehicle Crash Countermeasure Toolbox (the Toolbox) was published. Some relatively significant DVC-related and DVC countermeasure research reports, guides, and tools have been completed since that time. A list of 12 documents, along with their web links, has been added under the “Toolbox” header above. These publications are being reviewed and summarized with respect to their potential to impact the categorical countermeasure conclusions within the Toolbox and/or further assist with DVC countermeasure implementation decisions. The summaries will be posted when available.
September 2009 DVCIR Center Committee Meeting Held
The DVCIR Center pooled fund technical advisory committee met the evening of September 15, 2009 at the International Conference on Ecology and Transportation (September 13 to 17). The conference (see www.icoet.net) was held at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. The technical advisory committee meeting agenda will included an update of the activities completed by the DVCIR Center since our last meeting, a discussion of the research projects the project will be funding, brief summaries of several documents related to deer-vehicle crash reduction that have been released during the last few years, and a discussion of any related events and activities that may be occurring within each member state. The meeting concluded with a discussion about the future of the pooled fund project. Three research projects are now being funded by the DVCIR Center pooled fund.
October 2007 Deer-Vehicle Crash Reduction Symposium and Committee
Meeting Held
A symposium and DVCIR Center technical advisory meeting were held October 29-30, 2007 at the NY State Department of Transportation Training and Conference Center in Schenectady, NY. The agenda for the symposium included an update on the DVCIC and DVCIR Center activities, speakers that are working on projects related to DVC-reduction, and a panel or conversation circle focused on the experiences of agencies involved in the implementation of animal-vehicle collision countermeasures (e.g., challenges, outcomes, and lessons learned). The output of the advisory committee meeting will be used to guide the research projects that will be advertised soon and funded by the DVCIR Center.
Deer-Vehicle Crash Data Updated and Added to Website
New deer-vehicle crash (DVC) data has been added to the website. The most current year of DVC-related data provided to the DVCIR Center is being posted for each Department of Transportation involved with the clearinghouse and pooled fund. Data for 2006 will be added, if necessary, as it becomes available. The data available between 1993 and the present has also been acquired and posted. The listings of the ten states with the most animal-vehicle collision fatalities have also been updated. Summary, statewide, and national fatality data are available under the Data section of this website.
DVCIR Center Inaugural Meeting Held
The inaugural DVCIR Center pooled fund technical advisory committee (TAC) meeting was held at the Minnesota Department of Transportation Arden Hills Training Facility in January 2007. This meeting was sponsored by the Southwest University Transportation Center (SWUTC) at the Texas Transportation Institute. The agenda included presentations of ongoing DVC reduction projects, DVCIR Center organization discussions, and the definition and prioritization of potential subjects for projects the DVCIR Center may fund. The TAC identified a series of information-sharing activities it would like the DVCIR Center to complete. In addition, it was proposed that problem statements be developed for four potential research subjects. The subjects chosen include the identification of high crash locations, roadside vegetation management impacts, education and outreach methodologies, and alternative sign design evaluation. Information on the advancement of these projects will be added to the Pooled Fund section of this website as it becomes available.
Successful Meeting Creates DVC Reduction Strategic Agenda
In October 2005 a Strategic Agenda for DVC reduction was created. More than 65 people with a wide range of backgrounds met in Madison, WI to provide input for the agenda. A description of the meeting and its presentation are available here. The action items suggested by the attendees of the meeting are presented within the Strategic Agenda document and focus on four areas: data collection and research, funding, partnership building, and technology transfer/education. The objective of the strategic agenda was to provide guidance to those interested in advancing the reduction of DVCs.
New Information Added
7/29/09 Updated website to indicate new affiliation with Center for Excellence in Rural Safety at the University of Minnesota. Announced technical advisory committee meeting for September 2009. Updated data tables to incorporate new information.
9/4/07 Updated DVCIC homepage and added current DVC-related data and summaries for all DVCIC and DVCIR Center states. Added “Pooled Fund” section to the website. Updates to this section to provided in the coming months.
10/25/06 Added 2005 Wisconsin Deer Crash monograph to Wisconsin Deer Crash Data . Available data from other Upper Midwest states and Pooled Fund states to be added soon.
10/25/06 Updated information about DVCIC and DVCIR Center, Strategic Agenda, Pooled Fund, and Ten-Year data summary.
4/11/06 The report "Statewide and Upper Midwest Summary of Deer-Vehicle Crash and Related Data from 1993 to 2003" has been added. Information by state/region is available under "DVCIC Products" on the toolbar or here.
10/24/05 Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin DVC data pages have been updated and historical crash data by county have been added as downloadable files. 2004 data for Minnesota has also been updated.
10/14/05 The Regional Deer Crash Data page has been updated with 2004 figures
9/29/05 Wisconsin Deer Crash Monographs from 2000 to 2004 have been added to the Wisconsin Deer Crash Data page.