Deer Whistle

[Octane]

Yah, but, I haven't figured out how to turn notifications off for this thread yet.

Click on Alert and then Alert Preferences...I believe you can find a way to do it there.

 

[Groo]

So you're saying the deer whistles on your bike caused a deer to jump in front of you?

Absolutely. Deer is maybe 10-20' off the side of the road. as I start to approach, it gets scared (hooray, the whistle worked!), and the clearest path for it to escape happened to be to cross the road right in front of me. I've driven the road since and seen deer in the same area that did not panic and just stood there as I zipped on by.

Why would anybody assume a panicked deer will only run in the desired direction?

 

[Groo]

I'd put them behind the grill but it decreases the effectiveness. And in reply to some of your jokes above, I'll assume they are jokes, the object of a deer whistle is to get the deer's attention, not to call it to you, or to make it run toward you. Here in Nine Mile Falls the deer just run through the fields and straight across the roads. They do not look both ways like many of us were taught as children before crossing. In many areas the land owners actually cut back the trees and shrubs from the roads so you might have a chance of seeing them before getting there But then again in many areas the trees and shrubs grown right up close to the roads. When a deer pops out and you happen to be passing by, it destroys the front of your vehicle, sometimes even resulting in death, your death. The deer are usually, in most cases, killed. And at night it doesn't matter much anyway. Deer whistles work by making a high pitched noise that might distract the deer causing it to hesitate, or stop, before proceeding across the road. They actually appear to work and I feel it's safer to drive with them than without. Always had them on other vehicles. With them installed I've actually seen deer standing along the side of the road at night and watching you drive past. Whether they work or not is not the issue I'm concerned with, just wondered if anyone owned a similar RAM that had a good idea on how or where to mount them on this particular vehicle. That's is all.

I suggest the glove box.

 

[Fatbob Frank]

Why would anybody assume a panicked deer will only run in the desired direction?

They aren't train whistles LOL!
They aren't meant to scare deer out of the way.
They are only supposed to alert a deer that is otherwise ignorant of an oncoming car that something is coming it's way.
I see a ton of deer on the sides of the road and all they do is pick their heads up and watch as I go by...
Again, my truck exhaust and the road noise of my all-terrains probably drown out the whistle anyway, but most cars on the road are super quiet till they are right on top of you and that's what really panics a deer!

I figure for $10 if there's even a 10% chance they work it's worth it.
But in 35 years of driving in Iowa ( mostly at night) I've only hit 2.
I know some people that hit 2 a year!

 

[Jim M]

Unwatch thread

 

[averageguy]

Yah, but, I haven't figured out how to turn notifications off for this thread yet.

I think you need a notification whistle to scare them away! Sorry, I tried to stop myself.

 

[chri5k]

Every time I whistle at my Dear, I get the evil eye.

 

[Groo]

They aren't train whistles LOL!
They aren't meant to scare deer out of the way.
They are only supposed to alert a deer that is otherwise ignorant of an oncoming car that something is coming it's way.
I see a ton of deer on the sides of the road and all they do is pick their heads up and watch as I go by...
Again, my truck exhaust and the road noise of my all-terrains probably drown out the whistle anyway, but most cars on the road are super quiet till they are right on top of you and that's what really panics a deer!

I figure for $10 if there's even a 10% chance they work it's worth it.
But in 35 years of driving in Iowa ( mostly at night) I've only hit 2.
I know some people that hit 2 a year!

Sounds like your whistles don't work then. Deer look up at cars going by without whistles, but I guess my 30 years of driving in high deer population areas is less than your 35 years. but then again, the only 3 deer I ever hit were on the same route when I was driving heavy trucks. I have had several snot streaks and the like as well
Deer whistles are supposed to make a screaming sound higher than we can hear. I guess if you want to use whistles that don't work, I wouldn't have a problem with that.

 

[Taylor513]

Absolutely. Deer is maybe 10-20' off the side of the road. as I start to approach, it gets scared (hooray, the whistle worked!), and the clearest path for it to escape happened to be to cross the road right in front of me. I've driven the road since and seen deer in the same area that did not panic and just stood there as I zipped on by.

Why would anybody assume a panicked deer will only run in the desired direction?

Would a deer whistle overpower the sound of your bike? You've got your opinion and I have mine and I don't think the whistle scared him into running in front of you lol

 

[Groo]

Would a deer whistle overpower the sound of your bike? You've got your opinion and I have mine and I don't think the whistle scared him into running in front of you lol

My stock exhausted pointed rearward, away from the deer while the engine wasn't working at all going down the road. It was a quiet bike when not in it, probably quieter than my stock truck. The whistles pointed forward, towards the deer. Yes, I think the whistles easily overpowered the bike's exhaust.

I've been around deer plenty in my life. I have seen their actions under numerous circumstances. That deer panicked.

What would be the point of just making the deer look up as you pass by? why not just have them not notice you? If it scares them away from you, under the right circumstances they can scare them into running right in front of you. Your idea that it makes just enough noise to have them not run out in front of you when they really wanted to cross the road just makes no sense.

 

[tom martley]

2019 RAM 1500 Limited - Has anyone found a good place to mount deer whistles? The front end doesn't have too many nooks and crannies to hide them and keep them safe like in a car wash. I mounted them under the rear view mirrors but they keep breaking off. RAM could/should actually build them into the grill or something.

I live in an area with a heavy deer population and hardly anyone here uses the whistles because most don't think they work. They have been around for years but I hardly see anyone use them anymore. Game and Fish think they do not work.
People used to mount on front bumpers or area's where you get a lot of air movement

 

[leroys73]

In the trash can.
More evidence they don't work except to make money for the supply line.
My uncle hit a deer while on his Goldwing. The only thing not damaged on the front were the two deer whistles.

 

[CaptOchs]

I used to lose them every now and then. I started using fishing line to tie the whistle to the grill. It worked great. If the wash knocks them off they are still attached to the vehicle.

 

[Kukailimoku]

I don't think deer whistels work. When I lived in the mainland on the last century I had em on my car. They only ever got knocked off during washing or they got clogged with bugs every spring down south.
Having just moved back to the mainland from a couple decades overseas, I asked my workmates if they use deer whistels and not a one of em do. A couple have even hit deer in their lifetimes and still don't believe a whistle would have changed anything.

 

[Willy Bars]

We have lots of deer and we are always on the lookout. I think that they help as a deterrent and have noticed the reaction of deer when there is a whistle

 

[Octane]

Strapping a rifle to the hood will scare deer off.

 

[Narg]

Deer whistles are great for making... money for companies that prey on unwitting people. Come on guys. Just like in everything behind the wheel, keeping alert is your best bet.

 

[RixRox]

There isn't any real scientific evidence that deer whistles work. Almost all the evidence is anecdotal. Deer / vehicle collisions cost the insurance industry about $1B per year yet no company offers free whistles or discounts for installing them. Acoustical Society of America tests reveal that the whistles they tested did not produce much ultrasonic sound and the sound they produced was mostly drowned out by the vehicle noise.

https://asa.scitation.org/doi/pdf/10.1121/1.1582071

I have to agree with this. I lived in Georgia for 15 years. Dear whistles are not effective.

 

[tomb]

I'd put them behind the grill but it decreases the effectiveness. And in reply to some of your jokes above, I'll assume they are jokes, the object of a deer whistle is to get the deer's attention, not to call it to you, or to make it run toward you. Here in Nine Mile Falls the deer just run through the fields and straight across the roads. They do not look both ways like many of us were taught as children before crossing. In many areas the land owners actually cut back the trees and shrubs from the roads so you might have a chance of seeing them before getting there But then again in many areas the trees and shrubs grown right up close to the roads. When a deer pops out and you happen to be passing by, it destroys the front of your vehicle, sometimes even resulting in death, your death. The deer are usually, in most cases, killed. And at night it doesn't matter much anyway. Deer whistles work by making a high pitched noise that might distract the deer causing it to hesitate, or stop, before proceeding across the road. They actually appear to work and I feel it's safer to drive with them than without. Always had them on other vehicles. With them installed I've actually seen deer standing along the side of the road at night and watching you drive past. Whether they work or not is not the issue I'm concerned with, just wondered if anyone owned a similar RAM that had a good idea on how or where to mount them on this particular vehicle. That's is all.

Hey NealS--I have been pondering this also-My father was a lifetime bigrig hauler and they swore by deer whistles to scare deer and even moose because of disaster of hitting either even in a big Peterbuilt. I was thinking of putting one on each side of the grill on the painted valence cover above the bumper and just below the grill. I have only ever hand washed my truck since new-in the winter I just go to the spray wash place and hand spray all the **** off. I wax heavy before winter and it cleans up pretty good just by doing this. If you go through a car wash I dont know if they would get knocked off-maybe touchless would be OK. If your like me and travel roads with alot of deer traffic like me especially early mornings then dont listen to others-I dont.

 

[Octane]

Here is the problem and the solution.