Deer in the park

jibberish

Hi

My mate and I nearly smacked into a deer in Richmond Park this evening. Deer just walked straight into the middle of the road. Going down hill in the rain/dark and not easy to spot that it was about to happen.

Anyone got any tips for deterring them?

I've seen these things and similar - but they all claim to activate only at over 35 MPH:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/DeerDodger-Dete ... p_t_2_PPG1

Anyone know of any other alternatives?

Cheers

Jibb

samvegg

a cowbell one the back of your seat maybe, if you can tolerate that.

jibberish

Haha - a cowbell is so you don't lose your cows isn't it?

If the car drivers on the rest of my commute didn't hate me enough already, I think that might tip them over the edge :-)

veronese68

Unfortunately for road users deer are made out of some sort of magic light absorbing material, I think you just have to have some decent and well adjusted lights (ie trying not to blind others), keep your wits about you and be extra careful. Just try to make sure your lights don't blind others, a fine line between being able to see far enough and dazzling others.
If you smell the deer and can't see them, slow down.

plet

Bloody deer. They should be wearing hi-vis. And they don't even pay road tax ;-)

I used to commute through Richmond park at night and don't ever remember this happening. Is it really such a common problem? Aren't the deer rutting about now? They'll have other things on their mind no doubt. You'll probably find they're more sensible later in the year.

What lights are you using? Something with a nice wide beam would make it easier to pick out things to the side of the road.

alan_sherman

The simple answer is: Keep the speed down on the descents.

The deer do tend to congregate around the roads in the dark so expect it, and ride appropriately. Don't buy any stupid scaring devices as they live there, you don't. You might end up getting all of us banned. On a more positive note you could sign as you cycle through to warn them that you are there. In my experience that doesn't work as they still walk out!

veronese68

alan sherman wrote:

The simple answer is: Keep the speed down on the descents.

The deer do tend to congregate around the roads in the dark so expect it, and ride appropriately. Don't buy any stupid scaring devices as they live there, you don't. You might end up getting all of us banned. On a more positive note you could sign as you cycle through to warn them that you are there. In my experience that doesn't work as they still walk out!

I presume you mean sing. I don't think they do sign language in daylight, never mind the dark. I do sometimes whistle a tune as I'm approaching deer so as not to startle them. I've had them run straight across the front of me when startled.
Hi viz deer would be great, why didn't evolution think of this and plan ahead?
I ride through Bushy Park more than Richmond and have had a very near miss due to the rut and their minds being on only one thing. I know a guy that hit a deer once, broke his frame and left him rather battered and bruised. Luckily he missed the pointy bits.
I agree about not buying scaring devices.

BigLights

I think October is probably one of the worst months for this. Don't they close the park for a bit in November so they can have a jolly good Deer massacre?

marcusjb

At the end of the day, it's their park more than it is ours - they live there. So, we just need to take things steady and assume they will do something daft - especially at this time of the year during the rut.

If you see a deer at the side of the road - especially if you are descending - then slow down and move over to the other side of the road if there are no cars about.

Agree with the comment that if you smell deer, they are nearby, even if you can't see them.

Never in the millions of laps of RP I have done have I come close to hitting a deer. Squirrel - yes. Deer - no.

The real dangerous feckers are the Sika deer you get in various parts - little gits do just leap out of bushes and straight across the road.

dav1

This woman has the answer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFCrJleggrI

BigJimmyB

Get a dog called Fenton.

jibberish

I have no intention in scaring the deer off - I just wanted a nice,friendly way of not banging into one.

Last night - I didn't see the deer as it walked very fast into the road from the side. I just ordered a new big light for the front of my bike - though people with big lights can cause part of the problem here.

I've cycled through Richmond Park as my commute twice a day for the last 3 years - and in the winter, going down Sawyer's Hill - you get blinded by people with the big lights coming the other way - and you don't get to see the deer crossing the road as a result.

Totally with you all on the not blinding others - I posted this back in January.

LOL @ Fenton....that ought to do the trick

jibberish

Dav1 wrote:

This woman has the answer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFCrJleggrI

That's awesome - only just listened to it.

IanLD

I have wondered if they are attracted in some way to the sound of a bike.

Have had a few jump out in front of me and stop to look at me when cycling. Decent lights can help a bit, but I've still had to do some hard braking and come to a halt to avoid hitting them.

Try studded tyres as they don't like the noise they make!

shmooster

Maybe get rid of that comedy helmet with the antlers.

jibberish

http://bit.ly/1a0W9X1

veronese68

jibberish wrote:

http://bit.ly/1a0W9X1

Coming up as page not found.

jibberish

Ack - ho hum - it was just a stupid picture of a bloke dressed up as a moose. :-)

veronese68

Thought it might be something like that.
Had a large stag step out in front of me yesterday morning. Looked straight at me as I was approaching and just calmly strolled out in front of me with a distinct air of "I'm bigger and heavier than you with pointy bits so you can just wait". I think he may have even called me a pleb. I was going slowly at that point so it was no problem, just made me chuckle.

The Rookie

Veronese68 wrote:

Hi viz deer would be great, why didn't evolution think of this and plan ahead?

It did, but predators killed off all the hi-vis dear as they were too easy to see in the dark, so the strain died out....

veronese68

The Rookie wrote:

Veronese68 wrote:

Hi viz deer would be great, why didn't evolution think of this and plan ahead?

It did, but predators killed off all the hi-vis dear as they were too easy to see in the dark, so the strain died out....

Aah, that's the problem with being ahead of your time. There's always someone that will shoot you down for it.
Saying all of that there is one deer in Bushy Park that's almost completely white, he wouldn't have survived very long in time past.