Awhile ago I was traversing Indiana, seeking Chicago, and noticed all these road signs warning something along the lines of “When lights are flashing beware of animals.” What is the deal with that? Is there a walk button the animals push and then the lights flash? Are animals rare in Indiana, and it’s really just a sort of public service thing? What kinds of animals would they flash for?
Dave
I live in Indiana and I’d have to say that the animals in question are deer. They’re EVERYWHERE here. Hardly a week goes by where I don’t see a deer-crushed car or a car-crushed deer right beside either a mangled doe or a bloodied SUV.
And it’s probably more a seasonal thing when it comes to flashing the lights. Or the local authorities could turn the flashing lights on when there have been a recent spate of deer-related accidents. Someone smashes into a deer, a cop turns the light on to tell others that it’s an apparent danger.
That’s my guess, anyways.
But it’s an educated guess because I live here (and a mere 50 miles from Chicago, so it’s probably in about the same area as your trip).
–greenphan
No. These are specific warnings on the Turnpike. The lights are set up with optics (infrared? Laser? other?) mounted on the light poles aimed alongside the road at each other. If a deer walks between two poles, it will break the visual link and the lights will flash for several seconds after the deer has moved on.
In this way, a flashing light means that there is a deer next to the road right now.
I could have used those in the desolation of North Dakota this summer when I had a deer try to commit ritual suicide on my car hood.
Check out these deer pics:
Thanks for the definative answer Tomndebb. My daughter thought it was a warning that a buggy riding mennonite was on the road, but it didn’t seem very likely that they would be allowed on the turnpike. There must be a real deer problem out there if they went to all that expense and trouble.
Dave