Old Dominion Wildlife

A few weeks ago, I hit a deer while driving during the early morning.

I didn’t take any photos, but the body shop did take some pictures to send to the insurance company. Therefore, it is not advisable to remove any deer fur from your car if you are involved in a car-deer collision.

Do Deer Whistles Work?

These are whistles available for purchase that you attach to your car that emit a sound that deer can hear, but humans cannot hear.

I do not have a deer whistle and I hit a deer. I was skeptical of the whistles because I don’t really think hearing a car is the problem. After all, my car is not silent. I think the cause is more likely that, unlike humans, deer are not taught to stop, look, and listen before crossing the street.

When I took my car for repairs at the body shop, I asked them if deer whistles work. The body shop was also skeptical of the whistles, saying that they get plenty of cars in with the whistles after they’ve hit deer… including from one woman with multiple whistles and multiple collisions.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that deer whistles don’t reduce the chance of an accident though. It would be very interested if there was a statistically significant study comparing drivers with the whistles vs those without. I am not aware of such a study.

Do you have any data/opinions about deer whistles?