Robotics students at Chatham's Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School are doing their part to eliminate the high number of collisions between cars and deer in the area.
They've developed a deer crossing warning system, featuring a motion-activated light mounted on a post facing away from the highway to scare animals from going onto the road. It will also trigger a flashing beacon mounted above a deer warning sign so motorists know to drive with caution.
Teacher Dan Rolo says the Ministry of Transportation supports the idea, which debuted at the FIRST Robotics competition in Sarnia last December.
"It's super exciting because the students get to see their actual research in play in the real world," says Rolo. "They're going to be gathering real data from March until December and hopefully making impact and saving lives."
As part of a pilot project, a beacon was installed in March on Hwy.40 between Bickford Line and Moore Line.
The results will be reviewed in December.