Deer Whistle

[Mike05]

While chatting with a neighbor who rides a lot of back roads I mentioned the upcoming Gunnison trip. He immediately showed me something he has mounted on three of his bikes called a "Deer Whistle"; supposedly alerts deer (other critters?) he's about to pass thru.

 

I don't think he was pulling my leg so if he wasn't, has anybody heard of these things? Do they work?

 

Mike05

[bimmers]

They have been around for a number of years and have been used at least up north a lot. I have never seen any test results or statistics on how many of the deer accidents have involved these whistles (and how many not)

They don't cost too much and they probably will not be like deer calls so maybe it is a cheap insurance without knowing if it works or not.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

There is very little reason to believe that deer will react to the whistle in any way favorable to your cause, which is to get past them without problems. There is nothing in their makeup or conditioning that would suggest to them that they move, or, more importantly, move away from the sound.

 

With anything automotive, they are dealing with things that move much faster than anything in their experience and they just don't cope. You have been conditioned since childhood to develop a sense of how things are moving in relation to you and quickly learn to judge the speed of oncoming cars to see if you can safely cross the street. Deer receive no such training and tend to operate by instinct rather than reason. Their basic surviaval reaction is to RUN. Direction doesn't seem to enter into it nor does the fact that something is closing on them from another direction at a high rate of speed. Startle one and it will run.

 

Being herd animals makes it even worse. When one runs, they all take off after the leader. It is often the second deer that scores the hit, not the first. Young deer are particularly problematic as they don't have the benefit of experience. Basically, they are intellectually equipped to eat grass, defecate and procreate, to expect them to think, "Oh, a whistle sound, I better get out of the way!" is asking a bit much, IMHO.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

You can hear a car coming from at least a quarter mile away. So can the deer, even if the car doesn't have a deer whistle on it. Deer don't get hit because they can't hear the car; they get hit because they're stupid.

 

Some whistle mfr's claim the whistle emits ultrasonic frequencies. I don't have the link handy, but some university studied hearing in white-tailed deer and determined that their hearing frequency range is comparable to that of a human being - which is to say that they really can't hear ultrasound.

 

Whistle mfr's count on people rationalizing the purchase by saying "what the heck, it's only a few bucks...cheap insurance if it works, and not much money lost if it doesn't." If you're willing to rationalize it the same way, then I can probably think up a warehouse full of safety-related items that I can sell ya.

[dhb]

Within the past couple of years, there was an article about deer whistles in Motorcycle Consumer News, I think. The piece appeared to be well researched and involved interviews with a number of expert deer biologists. Not one of them believed that any available device had any effect on deer behavior.

Though deer aren't a problem where I ride in Alaska, I did place a couple of those plastic tubular whistles on the oil coolers on the R11R I keep on the west coast. Though I haven't hit a deer yet, thank God, I never saw any behavioral response of dogs, cows or sheep I passed. Needless to say, I wouldn't rely on these things, and after reading Todd's harrowing deer strike post, I plan to think some more about how to manage this finger of fate.

take care,

Dave

[GelStra]

You have been conditioned since childhood to develop a sense of how things are moving in relation to you and quickly learn to judge the speed of oncoming cars to see if you can safely cross the street. Deer receive no such training

Ah, HA! There's the secret! Deer training! Sorta like MSF for newbie deer! I smell a fortune to be made. Or, is it something I stepped in?

[MWS]

I had a wolf whistle on my bike, but took it off after the wife hit me!

[Doppelganger]

Deer Whistle page #1

Deer Whistle page #2

 

Deer Whistle page #3

[Haynes]

Here, we know them as roo whistles commonly marketed as Shoo-Roos. After a collision with a roo a little over a year ago, I became interested in finding out about them.

A subsequent search took me to several articles, many with opposing views.

 

What I did read is that deer have about the same audio range as kangaroos and the audio range is not dissimilar to humans. The inference is that if humans can't hear it, the animal is unlikely to hear it. Tests also showed that an approaching car can be heard from a greater distance than a deer (or roo) whistle.

 

In my opinion, even if an animal on the road can hear the whistles, there is no conditioned prompt for the animal to move out of the way. Moreover, if deterrent whistles were fitted to all vehicles, animals would be grazing on roadsides and fields and hearing the whistles without any harm done to them and constant exposure to the sound would desensitise them to the noise. In simple, if the noise itself doesn't harm them, they will not have a reason to move.

 

On the contrary, I have read and heard just as many testimonies from those who swear by the performance of their roo whistles. I know that the ambulances in country areas are fitted with electronic versions of animal deterrents. I can't imagine a service like that spending money on something that they had not researched. In this case, there is clearly a difference between a plastic whistle and a powered electronic sound generator.

[Spinner]

I lived in Michigan for a dozen or so years where deer whistles were prevalent. The engineer in me is always looking for statistical evidence that something works prior to purchase, which led to an interesting discussion with a co-worker that had two whistles on his truck (trucks are pervasisve in Michigan, as are deer whistles).

 

I suggested to my coworker that my radar detector eliminated deer strikes, as I hadn't had a single close call, while he continually mentioned close encounter with deer approaching his truck (only to be scared off by his whistles). This discussion, continued for many years until he was hit by a deer, totalling the truck. It was about this time that an article came out describing how the growl of truck tires cause a reaction to deer while in their rut - a sound that might mimic an atagonistic deer. Couple that with the beer cans rattling around in the bed and you have a recipe for attracting male deer wishing to protect their turf.

 

We had a lot of fun at his expense. However, his new truck doesn't have deer whistles, nor large, off-road capable tires. I never asked if he ever installed a radar detector. I moved from Michigan many years ago - far too soon to fully test my radar detector theory.

 

And no, the whistles don't work.

[Ken H.]

Yeah they work. The deer hear them calling them to come. Quickly.

 

[tobyzusa]

I moved from Michigan many years ago - far too soon to fully test my radar detector theory.

Not a theory, it's a fact. Radar detectors repel deer as proficiently as deer whistles, but only in Michigan, and on every other Thursday, and sometimes on Saturdays, if there is a full moon and the wind is out of the south.

[GelStra]

Not a theory, it's a fact. Radar detectors repel deer as proficiently as deer whistles, but only in Michigan, and on every other Thursday, and sometimes on Saturdays, if there is a full moon and the wind is out of the south.

But only if you're waving at the time!

[roydog007]

I have an on going argument with my brother, who rides a Harley. He is convinced the loud pipes scare away the deer and the stealthiness of the beemer is the problem. I tell him no the deer come out to check out all the chrome and to see what all the noise is all about

 

Any statistics on on deer strikes by motorcycle make ?

[GelStra]

Actually, he may be on to something. The deer run away because they are afraid they may get turned into some deerskin leather farkle with fringes. And besides, the chrome blinds them!

[tallman]

Why settle for a deer whistle when you can have a singing deer?

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=h...3D%26rls%3DRNWG,RNWG:2005-23,RNWG:en%26sa%3DN

Go here for video.

[WyreNut]

Hey Spinner, were you using a Radar Detector, or a Radar System???

 

Now that may be a handy farkle for the Beemer set... Active radar showing objects ahead of the bike at night!! Perhaps an HUD (heads up display) that projects onto the inside of the windshield!

 

WyreNut

[Mike05]

O.K., point(s) made & taken. Deer whistles don't work, as in no deer whistle on my bike. The "talking deer" really drove home the message.

 

Thanks everyone for all the input.

 

Mike05

[USAF1]

Just send your money to me......I'll return a box to you....(it'll appear empty...but contains "magic anti-deer dust)...just sprinkle it all over your bike.....and you'll be protected for the life of your bike!! No warranty at all....none.......nada.....zip. Who cares if it works or not.......just send me the money.

 

Pat

[IT_Mike]

Best deer whistle I ever found was wind across the barrel of a .30-06!

 

The rest don't work.

 

With regards to the loud pipes...I'd have to agree, anecdotally, they scare/deter deer. Spent 7 years riding Harley's around my home NW PA, and not a deer to be found (while on the bike). This compared to routinely stopping for herds (6-12 individuals) of deer while in the car.

 

IT Mike

[philbytx]

 

 

Make sure you get the large chrome H-D Deer Whistle....

it is part of the 'loud xxxx saves lives' H-D accessories marketing plan

 

Just something else completely useless to farkle up your bike with...