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A company I worked for put them on all their vehicles one year to try and cut down on deer damage to our trucks. (About 45 vehicles or so)
Deer collisions went up immediately. At best they didn't work, at worst it was actively spooking them... either way they were removed shortly thereafter and the incident rates started dropping soon after that.
I wonder if this isn't a different cause and effect scenario. If everyone in the company knew about the deer horns and believed them to work, they likely wouldn't be taking the precautions they normally did.
Of course they don't work, but I'm wondering if the placebo effect is what caused the accident rate to go up. Or an increase in deer populations that year, or land development, or etc.
But yes, they don't work.
I would suspect that they really are counterproductive. Deer standing peacefully beside a road aren't a problem, deer running across a road to get away from a noise are.
I think it was more a matter of timing. It was in the fall around hunting season when more people are out running around in the bush and deer are on the move.
The whistles were our safety officers idea. The rest of us pretty much knew they were crap. (Or at least some of us did) The safety guy wasn't too sure either but figured they were cheap enough to at least give them a shot.
It didn't help matters that we were operating in an area with a very dense population of deer either. I've personally counted over 80 standing in a field by a road.
This is my understanding.
If there's an animal grazing on the side of the road as you approach, then at best the whistle is just going to startle them, and they could go in any direction, including into your path.
Ya, deer are not smart. I've had deer literally run towards me and into the side of my semi truck in an attempt to "get away." I saw it coming from about a quarter mile away, and it just kept running towards me. I even blew the horn a few times. I was basically at a stop when it bumped into me. (It survived, but probably was feeling very stupid later.) And this was still during daylight hours. I've also had one trip over the hood of my car while stopped.
I can only assume wherever they think is a safe spot when they panic they'll potentially bolt towards it, despite anything or anyone in the way.
Bucks will actively try to attack vehicles. They are not only dumb, but especially aggressive during mating season