Remember the old Christmas cartoon about Rudolph the reindeer, whose nose glowed red funnily?
Now imagine that such deer exist in real life, only instead of a nose they have horns glowing.
And strangely enough, these horns save their lives. This is what you can see when you come to Finland.
A team of researchers traveled to Finland to see this unusual phenomenon.
Even a winter wonderland that looks like an illustration of a fairy tale has its big problems.
The Finnish government has been fighting a big problem for many years now – accidents involving reindeer.
The fact is that very often at night, deer jump out onto the track, or just walk along the road.
Due to poor lighting, not all drivers immediately notice them, and sometimes it is too late to slow down.
This is the region’s biggest problem, with about eleven accidents involving reindeer every day.
All this leads to the fact that one of the participants in the accident is seriously injured or even worse.
For the Finnish authorities and reindeer herders, the solution of these cases was in the first place. Even with government compensation, ranchers still lose their animals, and drivers, at best, have to take their car into service.
This is how Anne Ollila, director of the Finnish Reindeer Herders Association, decided to use luminous paint to her advantage.
She came up with a plan to make the deer stand out on the highway.
Anne, along with the rest of the workers, covered the antlers, some fur, and the skin with fluorescent paint that glows in the dark when hit by car headlights.
It all works in the same way as a cyclist’s vest, which is worn when riding on the highway.
Coating the horns with paint is an idea that has passed the test. Previous attempts to reduce accidents by placing reflectors on animal collars have failed.
The reflector lights imitated the headlights of other cars, misleading drivers into believing that the deer was just a car moving the same way they did, and often didn’t feel like slowing down.
But the fluorescent paint has passed the test. And thanks to Anne and the association’s creativity, road safety is now improving.
