Signal for "Slow your ass down, there is a heard of deer over the next hill!!!"?

[Bick]

I'm tooling down one of the rural roads one my way in to work this morning and see a large heard of deer starting to cross the road from the left -  Right at the base of a small hill.

As I approach, they back off the road, and wait for me to pass.

As a crest the hill, I see an R bike coming on at a good clip - I'm guessing @ 80?

I give him the "slow down" and he politely returns the wave. 

Not even seconds later, I hear that "dreaded sound".  I turn around to find that he had layed it down, taking out a buck.

Fortunatly the kid was well geared - helmet, jacket, Draggin Jeans, and aside from being a little shaken up, is ok.  Bike is trashed.

So what is the recognized sign for "Slow your ass down, there is a heard of deer over the next hill!!!"?

[meano_lover]

act like you're patting a dog's head with your left hand under the bar? it's a good general slow down signal.

[Qfactor]

act like you're patting a dog's head with your left hand under the bar? it's a good general slow down signal.

dunno about petting dogs. But I raise and lower my hand as a motion to slow down.


OR


make like horns on your helmet w/ both hands and replicate the sound of a buck while lunatically kicking your legs.

Q

[trenner]

Tap the top of your head, indicating  .  That'd slow him down, though for the wrong reason.

[CDawg]

Tap the top of your head, indicating  .  That'd slow him down, though for the wrong reason.

+1.  Works better than the hand waving up and down.

[Ducatiloo]

dunno about petting dogs. But I raise and lower my hand as a motion to slow down.


OR


make like horns on your helmet w/ both hands and replicate the sound of a buck while lunatically kicking your legs.

Q

Can't wait to try this.

[rsoffar]

OR


make like horns on your helmet w/ both hands and replicate the sound of a buck while lunatically kicking your legs.

Q

this one gave me a good laugh 

[Desmostro]

Ya the patting the dog thing is pretty casual.

If there is an emergency like a freaking DEER in the road, I would mirror the need to slow down with the energy with which I was signaling.
If someone is about to hit something, I'd wave pretty frantically with both arms or something.

If you're riding, one arm and one leg as dramatically as is safe.  The Leg out shaken is the common - "SOMETHING IN THE ROAD" signal.

[He Man]

Hands across the chest and then out giving the NO GO NO GO. or the hands across the neck as in  cut it out cut it out or just a LOUD wap of the horn and waviing frantically so he thinks ur in trouble and will slow down?

[Ducatista]

The universal sign for trouble at the track is frantically waving your left hand up and down as high as possible.  Some say just to put up your hand, but if it's the difference between looking cool and getting @$$packed, I'll look like a flaming retard all day long. 

The universal street sign for a cop is a tap on the top of the lid.  Do something of both and they'll get the hint that there's something waiting for them.

Good on you for going back to help the dude.  [moto]

[TCK!]

I'd flip them the bird and pull over hopefully to instigate a fight... then tell them in person that there is a deer just over there.

[StrikeJollyRoger]

Tap the top of your head, indicating  . 

Heyyy, good to know.  That and the shaken leg to indicate something in the road.  Any other cool signals new riders should be aware of?  For instance, what's the signal for "Where's the closest `gentleman's` club?

[junior varsity]

Pull out a bunch of $1sies.

[ScottRNelson]

The only motion that I believe is universally understood as "slow down" is moving your left hand up and down rapidly at a position below the level of your handlebars.  Someone did that for me many years ago to warn of a radar cop ahead and it was obvious to me what it meant, even though I didn't know any motorcycle hand signals at the time.

Many of the other suggestions given here so far are as likely to confuse the rider as they are to warn him to slow down.  As he's going over the hill trying to figure out what that strange signal meant, after he hits the herd of deer, he might have a sudden insight and figure it out. 

Here are a couple of different images hinting at the correct slow down signal:

Like this:


Almost as good:

[mossimo]

When I lived in Estes Park Colorado (read elk frickin everywhere) it was really common to see a car flashing its lights as a sign a herd of elk where blocking the road. 

Maybe a little high-beam, low-beam action combined with the

make like horns on your helmet w/ both hands and replicate the sound of a buck while lunatically kicking your legs.

Should get the point across