Deer avoidance in the 'burbs

[ohiojerry]

About three weeks ago my daughter hit a deer on her way to classes. No injuries, deer took off, about $1000 damage to her car. Well, now she is paranoid that she's going to hit another.

For years I've seen these ultra-sonic things that you put on your car and supposedly they scare the deer off or something. Does anyone have any idea if these things actually work?

Any recommendations for a particular one?

What the heck are they actually called?

As always, thanks in advance!

 

[Bullet Bob]

"For years I've seen these ultra-sonic things that you put on your car and supposedly they scare the deer off or something. Does anyone have any idea if these things actually work?"

Yes, I have an idea - no, they don't, based on all the studies I've seen.

Best tips - 1. slow down at dusk, night, and dawn, and watch the edges of the road. 2. If you see one, there are more somewhere very close, and will probably run out in front of you while you are watching the first one cross the road. 3. Drive a $2000.00 car during the rutting season

 

[Jst1mr]

"Deer Whistles", and they absolutely do NOT work. Having driven around rural Wisconsin for 35+ years with only one collision (rutting buck ran into my driver's door), I find only one thing that usually helps - pay attention! At least 85% of deer/car collisions are avoidable, but you must be alert, aware, and watching. I've seen people plow into a deer that was just standing in the middle of the road! When I drive, I DRIVE - I do not talk on a phone (even hands-free) or even listen to music or the radio. Guess I'm just old fashioned that way. Keep your eyes moving and avoid highway hypnosis and tunnel vision - and slow down and prepare to stop when you see them. As a hunter, you learn to read their body language and guess what they will do. Do not honk at them or just try to blast past them -they can change direction in a heartbeat. One last thing - please tell her that if she is surprized by one in the road and cannot stop in time "Hit the dang thing"! More people are hurt by trying to make heroic swerves and losing control of the vehicle...trees and oncoming traffic are infinitely worse to hit than a deer.

 

[snowman]

I asked my old barber this very question some years ago before he passed on. He assured me that they worked. Could he prove that? Absolutely. He said, 'They were invented in Australia to repel kangaroos; and never, since I installed them on my car, have I seen any kangaroos around here.'

My old barber; what a guy.

Andy



P.S. to ohiojerry: Obviously I am absolutely no help to you at all.

 

[carpriver]

No proof they work, Like others have said, slow down at dusk and dawn, watch the sides of the road, and never even slam on the brakes or swerve to avoid a deer, more people are killed avoiding deer then by hitting them. Driving at dusk is difficult enough by talking on the phone or anything else increases the risk of a collision.

My dad would play a game with us when we were kids, he would honk the car horn until one of us would ask why he was honking the horn, he would say to keep the elephants out of the roads, us boys would say there aint no elephants around here; he would say works than don't it.

 

[o3rugby1]

Im in Ky and at the fire dept we see this daily. The worst thing to do is to swerve and try and miss the deer. What happens they end up hitting a ditch or rolling the car. A deer hit me in the side of an ambulance with the lights and siren on ( 8 point ) so no they dont work. We have had them on trucks and buggies before but a waste of money. Usually here were theres one theres two. I hit a doe on thanksgiving night 3-4 years ago and did 3500$$ damage.

 

[Dominus_Lex]

Shoot more doe's, eat more venison. Suburban whitetail are very tasty and it helps to limit the population of "rabbits with horns"...... As with Snowman I'm not very much help.

 

[crstrode]

Nothing works.

Driving slow only helps to make the crash less severe.
I've had three of the damn things damage my Mercury Grand Marquis land barge.

The first one jumped down on me from a 10-foot bank on the side of the road. I was doing about 40 MPH. Broke the hell outa my car - about 3 Kilo-bucks damage.

The second one was running along in a ditch bank along the road. I slammed on the brakes and was going about 10 miles per hour with the deer still running along beside me. The stupid thing actually passed me, took a 90-degree turn directly in front of me and I ran him over.

Minor trim damage with fur and hide all over the place. The deer was break-dancing in the road and jumped up to look for another car to ruin.

The third incident occurred when I was in the house and the locked car was parked in my driveway. A genius deer jumped down from the hillside onto my car leaving half a dozen hoof print dents in the roof and hood.

I hate the damn things.

 

[Onomea]

Forty-five years ago, I was driving at night and saw some deer getting ready to cross the road in front of me. I stopped my car. Bang! A deer ran into my right front fender and flipped over the car's hood into the ditch to my left. I got out of the car to look at the deer. The deer got up and ran off. I looked at my car: Big ol' dent. Cost me $50 to have it pounded out.

So even if you are at a dead stop there's no guarantees a deer won't run into you.

 

[TACC1]

Fo a cpuple of years, I drove a Suburban that had two
of those whistles on it. One deer ran into a door, three others
bounced of the brush-guard. Make sure your healights are
bright enough, and aimed properly.
Drove a full-size van with out-of-alignment rear end, AWD,
never saw a deer until the ruined tires were replaced, and
alignment corrected. Now I see deer all the time.
TACC1

 

[Frank237]

Whistles are worthless.

Have Daughter keep the inside and outside of windshield squeeky CLEAN. Especially at night. Also keep the headlamps clean.

Then DRIVE...no cell phones, no texting, no putting on makeup, etc. And LOOK for them.

I disagree with the "hit it" theory. If I adhered to that I would have killed a few dozen of them over the years. That round thing you hang onto is to turn the car and avoid things. Teach her how to make calculated movements at hwy speeds.

I know thats easier said than done. Good Luck.

FN in MT

 

[gdnagle]

Its hard to remember but if you know you will hit the deer take your foot off break dear goes under instead of over. Worked for me still had damage hit her at 70mph bent bumper and little plastic grill on ranger guy behind me that was tailgating me didn't fair so well. Or Big old pickup truck with crash bars work also, never hit one with it but they like to run into the door.

 

[sipowicz]

They just need to move the deer crossing signs out of high traffic areas!

Please Move The Deer Crossing - YouTube

 

[bushmaster1313]

Suburban women near where I work got killed about ten years ago when she hit a deer and it crashed through her windshield.

A 150 pound dear going 50 miles an hour can be deadly.

 

[Sebago Son]

I mount a 9' Fisher plow on the Tahoe. I don't push any snow, but it saves on ammo.

 

[ladder13]

A 150 pound dear going 50 miles an hour can be deadly.

Deer are almost as fast as cheetahs

 

[CajunBass]

The Virginia State Police did a test with the whistles a few years ago. They found no real difference in deer collisions with or without.

My BIL used to be a fireman/engineer on the Seaboard Coast Line. He said deer would jump right into the side of a moving locomotive. No reason to think they pay much attention to a car.

The best advice I can give anyone is to LOOK for them, and SEE them. I point out deer on the side of the road, I mean standing out in the wide open and she won't see them. At night, watch for the eyes. If you see ANYTHING reflecting, be prepared.

 

[The Tourist]

I have heard that they do not work either. However, of my friends that have hit deer on a motorcycle, they all claim the same thing, "I did not see them."

There are better lights now. And since I'm on my smaller bike if I ride after dark, I bought one of them.

Since I live in a suburban area, but one with lots of trees and green spaces where deer can hide, we often see them crossing streets. Worse yet, they hide in the penumbra of street lights, and they sometimes run when startled by headlights. There is only a short distance to react.

Granted, I drive slower in those areas, but a wider, fuller and 'cleaner' beam of light gives me much more distance for stopping. A group of three doe once crossed in front of me, and I had plenty of time to stop.

The first generation of these lights were harsh, and blinding to oncoming traffic. The newer model like mine is properly aimed, defuses the beam at the edges, and even provides more light directly in front of the wheel and has no hidden spots.

No oncoming car has ever flicked his lights at me.

For the choice of sound or sight to combat deer accidents, I went with sight and early warning.

 

[snubbyfan]

Out here in the mountains of WV on the twisty, unlit, rural mountain roads hitting deer is commonplace. We had an old Dodge Neon that's been deer damaged by deer collisions at least 6 or 7 times. They'd come bounding out of the woods and they've run right into the side of our car or they'd run into the road, we'd stop in time, then when we'd take off again they'd run out if front of us and we'd lose another headlight, the grill was a lost cause and the hood was dented up but still closed. We have deer insurance but our car wasn't damaged enough to use it. We finally had to replace our Neon when the tranny blew up.
I put deer whistles and a grill guard on my truck. It seems as if the whistles attracted the attention of the deer. They'd be standing in the road going "what's that noise?"
The way to try to avoid extensive damage is to pay attention when you drive. Don't talk on your cell phone, fiddle with the radio, or do anything else that might be distracting, I don't even talk to my wife. Use your high beams whenever possible, they'll reflect in the deers eyes, don't tailgate and keep your speed down. If you do see a deer crossing the road, wait for it's buddies, then proceed slowly and with caution.

 

[LazyKB]

I took a deer, I had shot, to the processors several years ago. He told me to pull around to the back. At the back door to the shop was a pile of deer about four feet high; legs and heads going ever which way. A guy was standing by the pile with a down in dumps look on his face. I asked what happened. "I was on my way home from work last night, topped a hill and saw a truck in the middle of the road. It was all I could do to not hit the truck. The driver said six deer were standing in the road when he came over the hill and he hit three of them."

I told the guy that there looked to be more than three deer in the pile. "Your right.....I got the other three myself."