#365daysofbiking Taking a fence:

August 18th - A ride up over the Chase to Milford for a much-needed burger meant a return via the A513 through Satnall Hills between Shugborough and Severn Springs. This fast stretch of road is sadly notable for its high number of deer-vehicle collisions.

I notice an electronic deer deterrent is being tried here. I’ll be honest: I’m sceptical of these things. When I rode past at dusk, the units were just beginning to activate as they only operate from dusk until dawn.

It seems that when they detect vehicles, they emit a weird bird-chirp style noise and flash blue lights. They charge via a small solar cell, and are spaced every 15 metres or so.

The manufacturers IPTE say on their website:

‘The flashing lights of the warning sequence are intended to capture the attention of the animals while the acoustic sound makes the animals feel uncomfortable and stop and leave the roadside area.’

Ignoring the painful tautology of ‘Acoustic sound’ it’s an interesting idea that was tried on the Chasetown bypass but the units were vandalised. I did see a stag in the scrub at the roadside here, but on my appearance he ran back up the hillside.

I guess unless we give it a try we’ll never know if it works. It’ll be interesting to see the results.

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