Deer Whistles and statistics. Do they really *not* work or can they protect you?

 The first thing we learn in science is that anecdotal evidence is not evidence. Regarding deer whistles, there's no lack of anecdotal evidence! Actually, there is...

I've always had deer whistles on my cars; I think I picked that up from my dad, who had them on his cars.  I've also never hit a deer, but my wife has and she did not have deer whistles.  These are anecdotal and true stories because I've experienced both.  

When I searched the internet, I did a search for both types of stories. I'm sure they exist, but they've not been gathered together in one place.  One thing I noticed was a definitive lack of evidence about them *not* working.  In fact, I found fewer stories about them not working than I did about them working.  And this is the problem with anecdotal evidence.  If the horns work, no one thinks to mention this unless they decide to search for evidence or post a story contrary to their friends. The same is true if they don't use them and they hit a deer.  In the latter, we're more likely to see a story that says, "I hit a deer the other day." and not one that says they did it and they "were" or "were not" using deer whistles.  What is a person to do?

The lack of evidence one way or another is not proof they don't work.  Nor is it proof they do.  However, when all one has is anecdotal, I say better safe than sorry.  Fortunately, they're cheap, and it's not hard to mount them correctly.  My personal opinion is: The reason there are so few stories about deer horns working is because so few people have hit deer and were also using a deer horn.  Also, I do find far more stories about people hitting deer than I do about "not" hitting deer.  Of course, the reason for this is obvious. If we talked about everything that didn't happen to us, it would be boring, and no one would read it. 

Bottom Line: If you're on the fence about using them for a very small price and increased confidence, install them.  Installing them correctly and staying alert around fields and wooded areas near roads wouldn't hurt either. 

FWIW: In every instance I've seen deer and was using a deer horn, I was alert and the deer either already running across the road well ahead of me, or they were standing at the side of the road staring at me.  Whether this was because I was using a deer horn or not, frankly, I don't care.  I'm not going to stop paying attention to the driving conditions!  The best offense is a good defense!