Deer Aware has been developed through the Deer Initiative to increase awareness amongst the public of the risk of vehicle collisions with deer. The need for this was highlighted by the results of the Deer Vehicle Collisions (DVC) project which was conducted to determine the scale of the problem. It is estimated that in Britain there are 74000 DVCs a year and between the years 2000 and 2005 there were 20 people killed and 134 seriously injured.
A Driver Information Programme has been produced and made freely available through the deer initiative to raise awareness of the issue. The material contains a combination of artwork, radio adverts and website banner. The choice of different products has been chosen to allow for seasonal and regional differences.
This is also demonstrated by the radio adverts which are of varying length and have seasonal differences to allow for a more focused local campaign. The radio commercials that are voiced by the well known presenter John Craven also give advice on when it is most likely that you will encounter a deer and what you should do if you see one in the road. All the material has been designed so when used as part of a local initiative they serve as a reminder to drivers that deer are active in their area and for the need to be vigilant to avoid a collision or reduce the severity if one does occur.
The local application of the material allows it to be used in areas where DVCs are more of a problem allowing for a greater relevance to drivers. All the products are freely available to be used and can be downloaded for free or requested by calling or e-mailing the Highways Agency Information Line (08457 50 40 30 and HA_info@highways.gsi.gov.uk).