I don’t think I’ll ever understand the human being! In New Jersey, of all places, a company is testing a device on a road near Fort Dix that is said to deter deer from coming into the roadway when a car is approaching. The obvious intent of the device is to avoid deer/auto collisions, something that is quite common in this area
As I understand it, this is how the device works. In this particular case, there are 38 individual units set up, costing around $150 each. These devices are supposed to detect car headlights from as far away as 150 yards. Once the lights are sensed, the device puts out a high-pitched sound and flashes blue strobe lights. Inventors of this rig claim this will keep deer out of the road.
The instrument is made in Austria and is being tested here in the United States for the first time. The company that is installing them is JAFA Technologies Inc.
On the stretch of road where these noise and light pollution devices (this is where I get in my digs) have been installed, typically sees around 60-80 accidents a year. The local chief of police says the devices have been up and working for 10 days and so far there have been no accidents.
So, doing a little bit of math here tells me that on average there are between .16 and .22 deer accidents on that highway per day. It has been 10 days so anywhere between 1.6 and 2.2 accidents have been avoided, or have they? Ridiculous? You bet. I believe that if you looked more closely at the statistics, you’d find that accidents are grouped together. Like during the rutting season and in the spring when deer are on the move feeding etc.
Time will tell I guess if this device works but honestly we have to ask ourselves if this is the best way to deal with a situation where one area has too many deer?
So far we have tried whistles on our cars, detection devices that tell us something might be in the road and we can start laying on the horn, warning signs and lights (and there are actually people who are angry that deer don’t use the crossing signs for safety) and a myriad of other tricks and gimmicks all in the name of making a buck (no pun intended).
This problem once again could be easily resolved I would, say by bringing in a few good hunters and have them knock down the population. It’s a proven management tool and costs the state nothing, but this is New Jersey, anti-hunting capital of the U.S.
Tom Remington
