Deer Whistles on Motorcycles

[DoubleEagle]

Does anyone know if those plastic Deer whistles that some people put on the front Bumper of their cars really work to scare Deer back in the woods from close to the roadside ?

Dolph       

[kingbaby]

They work all right. Unfortunately the deer have NO clue which way they need to go when the whistle, or our loud ass bikes come at them (Just a guess, Ive never actually talked to one).

 Our deer in Northern New Mexico & Southern Colorado are a liiiiiitle bit bigger than the one in the video on the other thread.  I've got a miniature German Pincher bigger than that thing.

The forest service here tells people not to install them.

Woods big, road little. Maybe we need to give them a trail map. 

[kopfjäger]

Conclusions
The DVC reduction effectiveness of air-activated deer whistles has been investigated
through the use of non-scientific before-and-after studies and some documented research
into the hearing capabilities of deer. In general, the relatively poor design and/or
documentation of the before-and-after studies (e.g., sample size) have produced
dramatically conflicting results. No conclusions can be drawn from these studies as a
whole, and better designs and documentation are recommended for future studies of this
nature. A small amount of documented/published research has been completed in the
area of deer auditory capabilities and their reaction to air-activated whistles. For the most
part, it has been found that the range of hearing sensitivity for deer is two to six kHz, and
only some whistles apparently make sound within that range. It has also been generally
concluded that deer did not react to vehicle-mounted air-activated deer whistles, and that
hearing the sound from these devices might be difficult when combined with typical
vehicle roadway noise levels. The ability of whistles to produce the advertised level of
sound at an adequate distance within the typical environment of a roadway has been
questioned. Additional scientifically defined and designed research focused on the
effectiveness of air-activated deer whistles and similar non-air-activated devices is
recommended. A current concern is also the impact the installation of these devices
(which may or may not work) on vehicles may have on the alertness of drivers (i.e., Do
they provide an unproven sense of security?).

[kingbaby]

Damn D, Is that a yes, or a no from you?   

[kopfjäger]

Damn D, Is that a yes, or a no from you?   

 

I ain't smart enough to write that, hell it took me 20min to figure out it's a "not really."

[DoubleEagle]

After reading it I'm going to take it as a probaly NO !

Dolph       

[RC Fan]

Since I had two on my car when I unfortunately collided with a large whitetail, I am going to say no, they don't work.

[DoubleEagle]

Since I had two on my car when I unfortunately collided with a large whitetail, I am going to say no, they don't work.

Sorry to hear you had to find out the hard way.

Thanks for sharing.

Dolph     

[RC Fan]

Sorry to hear you had to find out the hard way.

Thanks for sharing.

Dolph     

I wish they did work!  We have lots of deer around here.

[heatherp]

I use them on my car.  Called Shoo Roos here (in Aus)  Used to have them on a much quieter bike.  Don't have many deer here but have found that kangaroos look up at you as you go past.  I did find that they cause more near misses with birds.  Now my much louder monster causes cows and sheep to run for their lives so I guess my termis would drown out plastic whistles any day.

Not that this helps any.   

[dusty]

I say no also.  I used to do a lot of traveling on the bike and had them for a short while and it didn't seem to have an affect.  But when I went on my trip to Alaska, my buddy had removed the baffles from the pipes on his vstrom and we had (believe it or not) NO animals run in front of us during the whole 13k miles trip!  Like heatherp, the cows, sheep, etc. would run for their lives.  We did run across a moose, though, that did not enter the roadway, but did run along beside us for a bit.  Also, when we took his Tiger to Yellowstone he got charged by a bison at one point, but I don't know if that was because of the bike.  

Anyhow, I think we all know that bike horns have NO affect whatsoever.

[Airborne]

I say no also.  I used to do a lot of traveling on the bike and had them for a short while and it didn't seem to have an affect.  But when I went on my trip to Alaska, my buddy had removed the baffles from the pipes on his vstrom and we had (believe it or not) NO animals run in front of us during the whole 13k miles trip!  Like heatherp, the cows, sheep, etc. would run for their lives.  We did run across a moose, though, that did not enter the roadway, but did run along beside us for a bit.  Also, when we took his Tiger to Yellowstone he got charged by a bison at one point, but I don't know if that was because of the bike.   

Anyhow, I think we all know that bike horns have NO affect whatsoever.

I 100% agree with this. My pipes scare the shit out of deer more than any deer whistle could. I once got one to jump clear over a 6 foot high row of hedges. MAKE YOUR DEER WHISTLE DO THAT SUCKAS!

[kingbaby]

At D.I.T.R. (Ducati in the rockies),  we came up on a new Lexus (paper tags), in town at the turn off to our hotel that just had a deer cross the street (15mph zone) and try to clear the car...It didn't, and landed on the passenger side, folding in the windshield & creasing the hood. Like I said before, our deer are a bit bigger here.

Bottom line: We're in their back yard, not the other way around.

Odds are they aren't just hanging out in the middle of the road...Why would they. But noises & scents are what spooks them.  They don't know they are about to jump in front of a motorcycle or a train.

Those are two different ways of looking at it, seeing as the car makes almost know sound.
It probably looked at it like it was a fence.

[orenjimonster]

I've encountered deer grazing on the side of the road a few times. 
I honked in my car (when I was driving) and when I rode my bike. Honking seems to help a little as they moved away from the road when I honked..

[ian48th]

I don't use them, because I doubt that they'd help. 

What I do to avoid deer is try not to ride after dark when I'm on a road trip.  You're a lot more likely to hit one at dusk or after dark.