PRIUS vs. Deer

I wonder if this is due to the quietness of the Prius. Now I definitely want Congress to enact the noisemaker legislation for hybrids. It will save blind people and deers from being killed. Now what to do about all the deaf people. Any ideas???

BTW... I hate PC. (no, not Prius chat and NOT Personal Computer). I'm sure you know what I mean.

 

As far as the deer whistles, my Dad had them on his car and they were "working" right up to impact with a deer so they sure didn't work in that case! The deer impact broke them and he didn't replace them.

 

I do have a question, you say you've been hit twice in 6 months by "oncoming deer"? My question is by "oncoming" do you mean that the deer approached your vehicle? Were the deer purposely coming towards you? Or was it more of a they ran out into the roadway suddenly type of deal?

It would seem strange behavior if the deer were seemingly chosing to approach and attack your Prius. Running out into the roadway is just something that might randomly happen in areas with a deer population. Deers running at your car by choice, that seems different.

I've never been hit by a deer, or hit a deer, but my lifetime close encounter was in Oregon a deer running from the forest into the roadway and then "freezing". I had to slam on my brakes. But the deer did not approach my car, a few seconds passed and it took off and continued into the forest.

I can't imagine what about a Prius would make a deers behavior agressive, unless the electric generators or motors or wiring was emitting a sound at a frequency only deer can hear? Like a giant moving dog/deer whistle?

Deers are relatively common in a lot of areas. I drive through a lot of places in Oregon that have a high deer population and as I have said, really have only had one close encounter. 2 in 6 months seems excessive. I don't know what you can do but assume it was just an unlucky fluke.

If you are attracting deer so easily you might start a side business. I'm assuming a lot of lazy hunters that would love to ride through the mountains with you. "Travel Bliss Automotive Hunting Excursions". Put's a whole new spin on Toyota's Harmony between Man, Nature and Machine angle but The Prius could attract a whole different segment of potential buyer if it became known it was the greatest Hunting aide since the Rifle Scope.

 

How do we determine whether a deer whistle still works, or has been plugged by bugs or other road debris?

 

Do you drive at dusk or at night? Deer are famous for staring at headlights until they get whacked. "Deer in the headlights look." Deer often are active at night, and they don't get the concept of headlights = danger.

Deer are especially dangerous in June and Autumn. June yearlings are without "mommy" for the first time in their lives (she has a new fawn) and they really are bad about the road. In the fall, bucks are looking for does in estrus and they could give a hoot about roads, cars, you, me, or ANYTHING ELSE.

You really need to drive defensively in deer country, because they are pretty poor at crossing the road. "Why did the deer cross the road? Because he worked for a bodyshop owner, ha-ha." In PA the deer is the state animal and they kill about 200,000 on the road every year. That is appalling but true. Fixing deer damage, unfortunately, is big business.

Rubbernecking 100% of the time will help you avoid some deer collisions, but when they are already running and come to the road there is often little opportunity to avoid them, without creating a much worse situation in response, like hitting a tree or an oncoming car, or being tail-ended.

PA rubbernecking boy.

 

It's unfortunate, but consider it's still a natural-cause disaster.

 

Deer whistles have been tested and found wanting.

 

A few years back, a big buck committed involuntary suicide by jumping out of some roadside bushes right into the path of my then new Honda Accord. I hit him at about 60mph and the buck stopped there - on my hood. I used to drive over 100 miles to work from my home at 7,000' in the SoCal mountains and often had near encounters with them - especially during dawn and twilight hours.

A co-worker bought me a deer whistle but, I never installed it because, I rationalized that deer spook at any noise and are just as likely to jump in front of you as they are to jump in any other direction. It's just bad luck that you and they happen to be on a converging path. Over the years, I've paid more attention to deer behavior and have re-affirmed my "just bad luck - converging path" opinion. When they hear a sound they don't like, they take off in whichever direction they happen to be pointed at when spooked - unless they are in a family group. Then, they tend to 'split' in the direction the 'leader' heads - which seems pretty random.

Thus, when a deer is spooked by a foreign noise (whistle?) and/or bright light (headlights?), they jump - sometimes into a "just bad luck - converging path". Does the Prius need to make more noise, so the deer will know which way to jump? I doubt that noise or lack of, is going to change the outcome, since the deer don't have a way of rationalizing that they should keep away from man's moving objects - they act on pure instinct and quickly leave their present position - sometimes in the wrong direction.

 

Travelbliss,
I like your moniker...

About your deer stikes, in Minnesota and many other states the highway deptment puts out yellow warning signs on highway stretches where there are high incidences of deer/car collisions. It makes good sense to slow down in these areas, especially during the rutting season when deer tend to be on the move wanting to make the moves on potential mates. They only pay attention to other deer, not to autos. Slowing down and being vigilant are the only ways to avoid these collisions. "Don't veer for deer" is a phrase we repeat - one is more likely to loose control of the car by trying to avoid a deer and then hit something more substantial than the 100 pound deer, like another car or a tree off the road.

Take it slower and avoid the little critters.

On the deer whistles....they work really well.....for the retailers. ther's good money in them, but apparently they don't make any difference to the deer.

 

I don't think hitting a deer is Prius related...

I use to own a Nissan Versa... But I ended up totalling it because I ended up hitting a deer. I needed to buy a new car for getting to work...so, because of this.... I ended up buying a used 2007 Prius due to the price being right.

Omg, felt like I wanted to almost faint when I hit a deer the second time with my Prius I had recently bought. Luckily... it had been a "light" hit. Deer ran off... And I ended up getting a small dent on the hood of my car. Nothing but a little cosmetic damage.

Anyways, I drive to work daily around 4:30am when it is still dark outside and hardly any other cars on the road. I kinda view it as a dangerous time to be actually driving.

I just know I just need to be more vigilant.. when it comes to taking it more slow on the road and being on the look out.... As even now... from time to time I'm more aware of seeing deer standing on the side of the road while driving to work. Deer, they are so pretty... But I shudder everytime I see one while driving because I know they can cause so much damage..

Sorry to have revived this old thread. I randomly came across it... And just thought I post my recent experiences dealing with deers and driving..