Deer Whistle?

[fredz43]

No harm unless you rely on them to work.

 

[2XADV]

What I meant by "lab testing" is the on the one right vehicle, with 2 whistles spaced perfectly apart to provide annoying harmonics, at just the perfect angle away from the front of the vehicle, the person who made these probably saw that the deer in his neighborhood ran away when he drove by at a perfect speed. Adding all that up, there is actually less than 1% chance they will work on a car. On a bike with only 1 there is much less chance. There is as much chance that they will wonder what the sound is and come closer to the road or stay frozen in the middle of the road until the last moment.

 

[markjenn]

The cost next to nothing, weight next to nothing, use no electricity. They might work and they might not, but whats is the harm in having one, just in case they do work

As others have said, they might also do as much harm as good. And I think MCN looked at whistles a while back and reported most simply didn't do anything and those that did emit any sound didn't for very long as they clogged with debris. Essentially, they viewed whistles as a placebo.

What is needed is a comprehensive survey over a few years in an area of high deer populations (e.g., Wisconsin) comparing the accident rates of deer-avoidance equipped vehicles and non-equipped vehicles. To my knowledge, such a survey has never been done. I have heard second-hand that at least one police department (I recall Ohio) equipped their vehicles with some kind of highly-touted deer-avoidance device for a few years and didn't notice any change in accident rates, so they removed them. But I've never confirmed this information.

Off-topic, but there is a really funny scene in the movie "The Straight Story" (a movie about a dying man driving his lawn tractor hundreds of miles to visit his estranged brother) where a woman hits a deer for the umpteenth time and goes ballistic. BTW, I highly recommend this film - the main actor (Richard Farnsworth) had terminal cancer during the filming which makes it even more poignant.

- Mark

 

[Koinz]

Myth Busters!!

 

[Brntrt]

Myth Busters!!

;D +1, love to see it.

 

[Ron_Luning]

Attached are the MCN articles. I saved them because I thought this might be a useful product for family on the East Coast. Seems like it may work...

 

[Venture]

Off-topic, but there is a really funny scene in the movie "The Straight Story" (a movie about a dying man driving his lawn tractor hundreds of miles to visit his estranged brother) where a woman hits a deer for the umpteenth time and goes ballistic. BTW, I highly recommend this film - the main actor (Richard Farnsworth) had terminal cancer during the filming which makes it even more poignant.

+1, I caught that movie one late night and it sucked me right in. Very emotional film.

 

[SisuTen]

Do deer lose their hearing as they get older, like I have??? :-\

I think having a deer whistle conditions you to think you're safe, and have less need to pay attention. Pure folly.

Nothing... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING replaces the need for good common sense and acute awareness of one's surroundings, in or on any vehicle.

Paul

 

[colorider]

Do deer lose their hearing as they get older, like I have??? :-\

Perhaps we can blame age for tinnitus as well (and not accept the fact that we probably did it to ourselves over the years by not using proper ear protection)!!!

CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME?!?!

 

[Motorcyclisted]

Do deer lose their hearing as they get older, like I have??? :-\

I think having a deer whistle conditions you to think you're safe, and have less need to pay attention. Pure folly.

Nothing... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING replaces the need for good common sense and acute awareness of one's surroundings, in or on any vehicle.

Paul

You are probably right, I believe I ride even safer without my helmet on. >. I know, I should wear a helmet all the time.

 

[SisuTen]

Perhaps we can blame age for tinnitus as well (and not accept the fact that we probably did it to ourselves over the years by not using proper ear protection)!!!

CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME?!?!

HUH?

 

[rem]

Say what ? Write louder, please.

I have a built-in "dear whistle"


Whenever my wife whistles, I jump right up and say "yes, dear?"

I knew you'd want to know that. Perhaps not. R

 

[SisuTen]

Say what ? Write louder, please.

I have a built-in "dear whistle"


Whenever my wife whistles, I jump right up and say "yes, dear?"

I knew you'd want to know that. Perhaps not. R

I love it!!!

Losing your hearing, as you can imagine, has it's upside ;D

It can also be an enhancement to the "selective hearing" control. Ha Ha!

Paul

 

[Venture]

Say what ? Write louder, please.

I have a built-in "dear whistle"


Whenever my wife whistles, I jump right up and say "yes, dear?"

I knew you'd want to know that. Perhaps not. R

 

[bvail]

I shy away from night riding, except for an SS1k ride, 'cause I'm scared of the night critters. Have seen some big forest rats in the middle of the day, but at least I could see them. Most of you have probably read this (naughty words in it) : http://www.advrider.com/Fame/Deer.html Dale may or may not have been using a deer whistle. Didn't read the whole story again this time. He also had some piccies posted on the internet and the bike and Dale truly were covered in green shit. Moral of this story seems to be 'aim for the gut'.

Gee, I wonder if they make moose and grizz whistles for the AlCan adventurer. I did bring Grizz spray, but didn't need, especially when riding ;D

A while back I attended one of the Western FJR Owner rally in Moscow ID (the first one) and there were at least two deer hits there. One fellow on the faster silver FJR smacked one and ripped his fairing up pretty good. As luck would have it, he got his hands on at least one roll of duct tape and managed to piece the thing back together and rode it back to the motel. AFAIK he might have rode it all the way home after the rally. Sure was a lot of tape on that bike!

BTW, one of the world's safest riders (IMHO) Larry Grodski of Rider Magazine's 'Stayin' Safe' was taken out by a forest rat in Big Bend TX while returning home to PA from a safety conference in CA. RIP Larry

 

[Venture]

http://www.advrider.com/Fame/Deer.html

First time I've ever read that. What a story. I sympathize with Warchild about the awful smell, for I have, ahem, been exposed to the insides of a deer on several occasions, however never with my motorcycle as the instrument making the hole.

 

[colorider]

First time I've ever read that. What a story. I sympathize with Warchild about the awful smell, for I have, ahem, been exposed to the insides of a deer on several occasions, however never with my motorcycle as the instrument making the hole.

It's quite a story. I have known Dale since way back in the early STOC days (mid 90's) and he certainly "has a way with words"!!!!!!!!!

 

[ptfjjj]

First time I've ever read that. What a story. I sympathize with Warchild about the awful smell, for I have, ahem, been exposed to the insides of a deer on several occasions, however never with my motorcycle as the instrument making the hole.

Dayum. That's one of those "lucky to be alive" kind of stories.

 

[Checkswrecks]

If you want a deer whistle, you can send me $10 and I'll make one for you out of aluminum foil that will look spiffy and work just as well. A plumber in our area put deer whistles on half his vans and it's made no difference in how many hits they've had.

We had a big discussion about deer strikes on the FJRForum a few years ago when Dale was active. There were them that had & stayed up, & them that had & went down. You'd be surprised how many hit a deer and stayed up - I'm fortunate to be in that club.


Hit it on a Ducati ST2 at about 45-50 on Skyline Drive. There was no time for reaction or thought, just dirt biking reflex of locking up my elbows and sliding my butt back for impact. Nailed the little doe across her mid section and it was like hitting a brick wall. The instant before, I was thinking "Too bad, this has been a nice bike." Fully formed thought that I remember clearly to this day. The next instant, I was still looking straight ahead, but at blue sky upward through tree leaves. Another clear thought, that when the front wheel came back down it'd speed wobble and this was going to hurt. The Duck came down straight and after a couple of seconds, I eased on the brakes to a stop in the middle of the road. Had both feet down and nearly fell over as the adrenaline left my legs. The encounter trashed the front end plastics, but the Ducati took me home.


I think we're still at 5 vehicles with hits in our family, some of which have hit or been hit more than once. We've had them in the sides of the van and Ford Escape. Last week I was following a bus and 4 deer tried to run across the road in front of it. One got tagged, spun off the road, and then took off. About all you can do on the bike is to follow another vehicle and hope they take it. If you're going to hit, there probably won't be time more than to just tense up.


But the bottom line is to ride it out. Somehow more deer just miss than get hit and a jerked reaction will probably give you higher odds of a wreck.