A citizen advisory commission’s request for a more eye catching deer crossing sign has been adopted by Newtown Township. Soon drivers will see a large sign like to ones that show your car’s current speed, but instead of numbers, it’ll have an animated deer done “lite-brite” style. The sign will be tried out at at the base of route 413 where Durham Road begins to head north and later moved to other high deer population areas.

In a story by the Bucks County Courier Times says Jay McGuigan of the Newtown Environmental Advisory Council asked for the sign, after conducting his own study of all the deer-vehicle collisions in the township for 2007. His study found that in that period there were 18 deer-vehicle accidents.McGuigan also found the bulk of the accidents take place between the hours of 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

While this “bouncing deer” sign is only for Newtown, It could be something that other townships might want to think about. All of us have seen deer close to the road, but I’m told that when a deer bolts into the road there’s little time to react. This can sometimes lead to tragic consequences. In June, a 17-year-old Kennett Square student died in a one-car accident after swerving to avoid a deer.

UPDATE: 10/1/08 @ 11:00am - I just came across this interesting story about what the Colorado Department of Transportation is doing to warn drivers of deer