On the subject of critters on the road/"deer whistles":
I've had 'em on many of our vehicles over the years, and I swear that they
help. Here's what I've observed in many, many encounters:
The noise (which most folks can't hear, but the things are for deer, not
people) seems to cause the deer to look at me (the approaching vehicle) and
decide to do nothing. They usually are not standing on the highway --
rather on the shoulder or off in the grass. They look but don't leap, and
if they do move, they mosey away (repeat away) from the pavement. I've
never never never had a deer jump out onto the pavement and into harms' (my)
way when I've had deer whistles on the vehicle I'm driving.
I've asked a few local accident investigators, and the majority say that
car/deer accidents also agree that the whistles decrease the number of
incidents (but don't eliminate 'em altogether).
Don't forget that just like you with a mouthful of crackers, deer whistles
that are full of mud or bugs can't whistle. When Nancy and I are on a
motorcycle tour it's a daily routine for me to take the whistles off the
bike and clean 'em.
Now ask me if I've got whistles mounted on our trucks. I did, and that
truck didn't have a deer/truck accident 'til the whistles were gone. Both
of our new trucks sport bent fenders -- neither has whistles. Yeah, yeah, I
know.
I cannot speak to cattle or horses -- they're not allowed up this far north.
Jon
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Belford [mailto:jimbelford@msn.com]
Sent: Monday, December 30, 2002 6:04 PM
To: jonw@up.net; ed@vetteracing.com; lsr_man@yahoo.com
Cc: land-speed@autox.team.net
Subject: RE: Bonneville Road Race
Jon, I ride the canyons all the time here in the Salt Lake-Ogden area and
have encountered everything from, deer to horses to cows in the road. The
cows are not too bad. If you see them in the road far enough in advance you
can typically slow in time to steer around them. I found you can honk but
they just stare at you and don't move very fast! Deer on the other hand are
quick and do not always seem to make the best decisions. I saw a deer one
time up near Monte Cristo about a 200 yards away off to the right of the
road so I thought I would slow to about 70 and honk my horn as I approached.
The deer looked at me and rather than darting away from the road, it ran
right in front of me. I had to brake hard and swerve. Luckily I missed it.
I'm not sure which eyes were larger - mine or the deers. I would hate to
travel the roads at night.
Jim
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