My Husband was almost killed by hitting a deer on his way to work. ALL yellow reflectors should be outlawed!!!

Question

I think all YELLOW reflectors on roadsides should be banned because of so many wrecks caused by deer. Their eyes shine out in the night as yellow. So do you think or agree that all reflectors whether by the highway dept. or on a mailbox should be out-lawed in order to better help people to see and know that a deer is running out? Especially in the Southern U.S., If you agree, would you help in contacting via email or other our US Senate, Government & such?

My husband was on a motorcycle, 52 years old and is a VERY careful driver. He slows down for anything including the yellow reflectors that may look like a deer. I WAS MEANING TO ONLY BAN ALL "YELLOW" REFLECTORS. Change that one color to another one. I also believe that everything happens for a reason. I do not "blame" the poor deer nor my Husband. I just believe it would help people to more closely be able to identify deer with the YELLOW reflectors gone. And as I read over all your answers, I also agree that the hunting season maybe should be extended. I am not asking for this to be done only because of my Husband, but for ALL people travelling. Another answer was that all roadside reflectors were changed to white... Something such as this is what I am asking for. There are young and old who or safe drivers & also unsafe drivers along with those who can hardly see driving at night with everything running together. I just believe this color change of yellow would help.

Answer 1

Actually, I wouldn't mind helping, but my state has already changed most of the roadside reflectors to white. And since it's the states that do the highway building and localities that do the signage, writing to the national government won't do much good. Unless you can get overwhelming support to withhold highway funds, like they did with the drinking age.

Answer 2

I'm sorry about your husband, but no, I don't think reflectors should be outlawed. I think there's a lot more danger of running off the road in the dark than there is of hitting a deer, so banning reflectors would put many more people at risk. maybe one solution would be to change the color from yellow to lime green or hot pink--some un-deery color that would show up nicely in the dark! (is that what you meant by YELLOW?)

p.s. obviously the people calling your husband an idiot driver have never had a deer run in front of their car at night in an unlighted area--you can't see it until it's right in front of you. (but I also have sympathy for the deer--we HAVE destroyed their habitat.) hope your husband is doing well :)

Answer 3

no i don't think the reflector's should be banned, it helps people know where the sides' of the road is. maybe a different color? Like the new blue or purple headlights their coming out with, but then everyone would think a car was running out in front of them and might actually swerve into a car...

Deer get hit a lot, you just gotta slow down and watch for them. They are scary and do cause a lot of accidents, I've ran over one before myself. But, it really didn't have anything to do with the reflector's on the side of the road, it was the deer...that ran out in front of me.

Answer 4

I am sorry to hear that your husband was in a car accident. But writing our legislation with a request prohibiting roadside reflectors will not decrease the number of car accidents and fatalities involving nocturnal animals, like deer. Instead, it would increase the number of accidents in the area that deer cross, in addition to those areas where visibility of the actual at night is nearly impossible, as is.

I, too, live in a rural area and have been in accidents and near-misses with deer. Living in Coweta County, Georgia it is only common sense to decrease one's velocity and increase one's awareness after dark. Deer are not the only things that you should be on the look-out for when behind the wheel of a car.

P.S.

I also agree with what iheartjessilee says. The areas in which we live, work, and drive through not the natural vicinities of housing complexes, shopping districts, and roadways. Rather they are the natural homes and habitats of wild animals. We should be considerate of the wilderness, wild places, wild plants, and wild life.

Answer 5

It is not the reflectors fault the deer jumped out, nor is it the reflectors fault your husband was not paying attention and did not see the deer. If you want to reduce accidents caused by deer, remove the roads, stop driving. This is their home and habitat. We have destroyed it. Your worried about your husband, what about the poor deer. He didn't ask you to drive the death machine into him, now did he?

Answer 6

we need to do something and first is a commitee to investigate your claim that yellow reflectors are the cause and not the deer them-selves .we need to do studies on color blind drivers to see if they spot deer better then people who see colors .there are at least a hundred things that must be determined first before we can even make a recomendation to government on the best plan of action .I would suggest that all dear be captured and a strobe light be placed on them so they would be easliy seen by drivers as well as hunters so we do not have those nasty hunting accidents anymore where hunters get killed by being mistaken as prey in the woods.do you have 15,000,000 dollars to get the study going.

Answer 7

Should be we also exterminate all the deer? I've had a few close calls with them, too, but have managed to miss them every time. Maybe we should outlaw drivers who are unaware that they're flying through an area where the deer roam.

Answer 8

problem; other animals and some deer have eyes that shine as orange or red. Depends on the light used also. Sos you have to use some color that the eye picks up thats not in the trees and bushes and dirt. So pick a color that the eye really picks up on.

Not too much to do about it.

Answer 9

Perhaps your husband should drive more carefully. I live in a rural area where we have a great deal of wildlife including Muntjak and Roe deer. We drive accordingly. Compassion for the innocent animal might be more appropriate.

Answer 10

It would also help if they allowed for longer hunting seasons to help control the population of deer. In most of the USA there is no major predator for deer so the only way they die are from cars, hunting and disease/old age. My solution longer and large hunting quotas.