Deer Whistles on Vehicles, do they work? (Houston, Kerrville: insurance, home)

[mamacatnv]

Recently moved to the hill country and have had more close encounters with deer than I care too.
Last night, at 75 mph, hit a carcass that had just been hit by a vehicle in front of us. No major damage thank goodness but scared the crap out of us and took one of the running boards off my vehicle plus I now have blood, gore & fur along with a traumatized child who was in the vehicle with us. The vehicle that hit it was disabled and on the side of the road waiting on a tow truck. We pulled over to make sure he was okay.

The change in the time has now put me coming home from work at dusk or early evening and the deer seem to be everywhere. My son suggested deer whistles for my vehicle, I have never heard of such a thing but wondered if they actually work???
Any thoughts?

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by mamacatnv

Recently moved to the hill country and have had more close encounters with deer than I care too.
Last night, at 75 mph, hit a carcass that had just been hit by a vehicle in front of us. No major damage thank goodness but scared the crap out of us and took one of the running boards off my vehicle plus I now have blood, gore & fur along with a traumatized child who was in the vehicle with us. The vehicle that hit it was disabled and on the side of the road waiting on a tow truck. We pulled over to make sure he was okay.

The change in the time has now put me coming home from work at dusk or early evening and the deer seem to be everywhere. My son suggested deer whistles for my vehicle, I have never heard of such a thing but wondered if they actually work???
Any thoughts?

Can't say I've ever read any 'studies' that show the whistles work. Some say the whistles disturb or alert the deer; but the deer don't move to avoid the sound(presumably the desired effect).

[CptnRn]

No

Deer horn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Scientific studies of these devices have indicated that they do not in fact reduce collisions.
Researchers with the Georgia Game and Fish Department and University of Wisconsin–Madison have pointed out several reasons why these devices do not (and probably could not) work as advertised:

• Some deer whistles do not emit any ultrasonic sound under the advertised operating conditions (typically when the vehicle exceeds 30 mph).
• Ultrasonic sound does not carry very well. It does not travel a long enough distance to provide adequate warning, and also is stopped by virtually any intervening object, so any curves in a road will block the sound.
• Little is known about the auditory limits of deer, but current knowledge indicates that deer hear approximately the same frequencies as humans, and thus if humans can't hear a sound, deer probably can't either.
• If deer could hear ultrasound, it is unknown if it would alarm them or induce a flight response. Certainly if they heard it on a regular basis, they would get used to the sound and not react to it.

In addition to the Georgia and Wisconsin studies, a study by the Ohio State Police Department also indicated the whistles are ineffective.[1] Independent testing carried out by the Department of Zoology at the University of Melbourne reached the same conclusion about shu-roos and kangaroos.[2]

[CarnivalGal]

I asked my brother-in-law this same question once. His reply was that he didn't know, but he saw a lot more grill guards on cars than deer whistles. Good point.

[neddy]

Nope, we still hit the deer.

[mackenziep]

Deer are a big problem where my parents live (rural NY), and they're freaking BIG. People use a combo of deer whistles (who knows if they work, but just in case and understanding deer behavior. Driving 70mph on Hill Country roads doesn't give you a ton of options, however.

Slow down a bit if you can, keep a lot of space between you and other cars, and always be scanning the sides of the road. Always assume that there are more deer than just the one you see. Sorry if you already knew this, but maybe someone else will benefit.

[10scoachrick]

Reminds me of the old farmer-lady who lived along an open stretch of highway where the deer loved to roam. She complained to the county about the 'Deer Crossing' sign in front of her place, saying: "They really should move that sign. That is NOT a safe place for deer to cross!".


Bazinga!

[scottsheehan026]

There is a saying in the Texas Hill Country.

There are two types of people out here.
Those that have hit a deer.
And those who have not hit a deer yet.

Coming from the Kerrville/Fredericksburg area I can say I don't think whistles help at all.
I have found a lot of evidence that a big gas guzzling truck with a grill guard seams to help a lot with piece of mind though.

But really this time of year when it cools down and the deer are "running". There is not a lot you can do. Just stay away from the far right lane and prey. Or whatever you do if your not the religious type.

[LongTimeAustinite]

About three months ago a deer ran out onto 290 an hit ME. He T-boned my truck on the passenger side. Did $3000 worth of damage.

So I guess there are actually three types of people:

Those that have hit a deer.
Those that have been hit by a deer.
And those who have not yet hit a deer.

[UKjay]

How about a FLIR system for your vehicle? A little pricey, but I wonder if auto insurance discounts would apply. My son-in-law & daughter had them out their cars until they moved back to Sydney; many more things than deer to hit in the dark where the wild things are in Australia.

My husband drives back from Houston every weekend and I've been nagging him to get one now that he drives after dark. LOL. Probably will not happen since he has trouble selecting a playlist on the IPod (in all fairness it is a very old IPod)