Deer may be one of the more dangerous situations for a motorcycle rider. They approach seemingly out of nowhere, it is often a high speed impact, and if you hit the deer the rider often goes down. Here are some common sense tips to avoid deer on your motorcycle.
Facts to be aware of regarding deer on the roadway
- Deer travel together. If you see one there are more around.
- Timing: Deer are most active at dusk and dawn
- Stay towards the center of the lane. It gives you more time to react and see the hazard
- Deer have developed a zig-zag escape pattern to avoid predators. They don’t run away in a straight line and this makes them less predictable to avoid.
- Studies have shown that deer whistles are largely ineffective at minimizing accidents.
- Deer crossing signs are there for a reason. Deer travel in predictable patterns and the sign is there because more than one collision has occurred there. It is a sobering thought but a heavy price was paid for the deer crossing sign you just passed.
- If you ride in peak deer areas at times of peak deer movement, add extra lights to your motorcycle. In the US the five states with the highest collision rate are West Virginia, Montana, Pennsylvania, Iowa, and South Dakota. According to State Farm, one out of every 41 West Virginia customers filed a deer strike claim in 2016!
- If you think you see a deer immediately slow down and blow your horn but don’t depend on it. Deer are adept at locating sounds and it may help them move further from the road. But, you can never be sure.
- If a collision appears imminent, do not swerve. Braking hard right up to the point of impact is good, but you want to be stabilized if you do collide, which will give you the greatest chance of remaining upright.
- Have we ever talked about emergency braking on this channel? (Maybe show some clips of me saying stop) The time to practice emergency braking is now, not when the deer runs out in front of you.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has the following to say regarding deer strikes and which states have the most impacts.
The five states with the highest risk of deer strikes are West Virginia, Montana, Pennsylvania, Iowa, and South Dakota. As that list suggests, there’s not any particular region of the country where you’re safe. According to State Farm, one out of every 41 West Virginia customers filed a deer strike claim in 2016!
If you live in one of these states be on the lookout and no matter what state you are in be particularly aware at sunrise and sunset. Deer are most active during these times.
Do deer whistles work on motorcycles?
The director of bioacoustics research at the National Undersea Research Center performed a study on the effectiveness of deer whistles. Below is a summary of his findings.
Air velocity whistles were mounted onto different vehicles, which were then operated at controlled speeds of between 30 and 45 miles per hour. The researchers recorded the sounds these whistles made while the vehicle was in motion. What they discovered was air whistles produce signals that register either 3 kHz or 12 kHz. A 3 kHz signal is unlikely to be heard since it is only three decibels louder than a car traveling on the highway. As such, it could easily be drowned out by other vehicles, rain or high winds. A 12 kHz signal is outside the normal hearing range of a deer, which means it is also ineffective.
