I've been an avid outdoorsman and I enjoy being outdoors, and watching the wild animals in their habitat. But in some regions, this is the time of year that, according to the natural cycle, wildlife is starting to move, some times encountering vehicle traffic.

I've read reports that upwards of 750,000 vehicle accidents with wild game will occur in a short period. When I lived in New Hampshire, I had game alert devices on my vehicles and from what I could tell, less near-misses were the result.

Deer whistle / accident prevention - The animal alert safety warning device.

If you drive in an area where these would be used, do you have any advise on the effectiveness?

They have them around here as well for the abundance of moose and deer. Logically I cannot imagine how they would work. They need the air current from the forward motion of the vehicle to make a sound, therefore the sound occurs behind the vehicle. How can that prevent collisions?

Cap, my father is a truck driver, I'm unsure of the brand names, but
He and many other truck drivers that he knows and comes across use this
Type of device to attempt to get animals to move out of harms way before its too late.
He says they work better than nothing at all :)

Don't they have something like a foghorn?Loud enough for the animals to hear from far?

The device operates at a pitch we humans don't pick up... I've used them and found them to work enough that I'd rather have them installed than not.

I don't know how they work, but I can tell you, where I grew up... Kent County Michigan, #1 county in the US for deer-car crashes, they really don't work.

They have been using them for years there, and they are still #1 as far as car-deer accidents go.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CaptainRich

The divice operates at a pitch we humans don't pick up... I've used them and found them to work enough that I'd rather have them installed than not.

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Same thing my father said.

Here's what some say about the whistle device
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EB1677 Animal Warning Devices
The state police in Ohio, after months of testing, found no significant decrease in patrol car/deer accidents after the warning devices were installed. In fact, more accidents were reported by the officers after the whistles were installed than before for the same period and stretches of highway. Tests conducted in Utah, Georgia and Wisconsin also concluded that deer whistles don't work.

The odds are you won't hit a deer. Your best protection is to drive defensively, particularly as the sun sets. This is when most vehicle/deer accidents occur. Slow down when you see one deer. More often another is right behind it.

Until there is some solid evidence, other than personal testimonials, that deer whistles are effective, keep your money in your pocket.
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Here's a funny one!
Deer-Vehicle Collisions are Numerous and Costly. Do Countermeasures Work?
Before he discovered deer whistles, a supervisor for an Arkansas utility came up with his own plan to scare deer off dark country roads. He taped the barking of his neighbors' dogs, rigged an amplified speaker to the front of his truck and then broadcast the tape as he cruised down highways.

But he abandoned the scheme, amid concern that the barking was not only scaring deer, but awakening residents of southern Arkansas.
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