Strange But True: Suicidal Deer Signs Now On Highway In Illinois

Suicidal huh, well that's one way of getting passing drivers to read a sign. And no, the deer in rural Ford County, Illinois place aren't depressed about the stock market and committing suicide. The sign above are one of four that the Ford County have bought to put up on highways to warn drivers of crossing deer.

It seems, the plain old deer crossing signs we are all used to were not cutting it in this county. As last year there were more than 30 vehicle-deer collisions in the county causing concern (Ford County, Illinois has a population of 13,832). Al Cambronne who is the author of Deerland: America's Hunt for Ecological Balance and the Essence of Wildness, wrote last year in the Slate that approximately 150 persons die and that more than 10,000 injured as a result from deer-related crashes. So this extra attention to deer crossing isn't a bad idea at all, if it will save more lives (both human and deer alike). 

Though the sign in Ford County have become a bit of a viral spark on the internet they aren't the first to come up with this idea. A local highway commissioner, Ron Hilligoss, got the idea from a photo his nephew sent him. Speaking with the Ford County Record, he told them he saw the photo of a similar sign in Colorado about 6 months ago in the text his nephew sent. Figuring it was a good idea, he brought it to the attention of the Ford County Highway Department at meeting and they agreed and bought four of the signs.

Hopefully, this strange but true fact will be a catching trend that lowers the numbers of deaths brought on by deer collisions.

Interesting fact, interesting indeed.