Daughters horse hit a car

MartialArtMan

My daughter took the horse she is loaning out for a hack on the road the other day, I accompanied her on my bicycle. Unfortunately when someone drove past (too close but very slowly) the horse spooked and backed into the car causing a dent in the door. The driver was very courteous about it and so was I. Having no idea what the legalities are on issues like this I gave him my phone number and asked him to give me a bell after contacting his insurance company. He called me today and said that he needs a new door and wants me to pay half of the costs, so I guess that will be about £200 - £300.

Can anyone offer any advice on insurance or legalities of riding on the road?

Scooby_Doo.

Seems strange he's only asking for half.

cardinalbiggles

MartialArtMan wrote: »

My daughter took the horse she is loaning out for a hack on the road the other day, I accompanied her on my bicycle. Unfortunately when someone drove past (too close but very slowly) the horse spooked and backed into the car causing a dent in the door. The driver was very courteous about it and so was I. Having no idea what the legalities are on issues like this I gave him my phone number and asked him to give me a bell after contacting his insurance company. He called me today and said that he needs a new door and wants me to pay half of the costs, so I guess that will be about £200 - £300.

Can anyone offer any advice on insurance or legalities of riding on the road?

No idea of the legalities of it, but if your horse hit someones car your ultimately responsible. If it was the other way about you would want your vets bill paid!

I once saw a horse spooked that someone was taking up quite a busy road. No matter the legalities you would think that riders would show some common sense and not take a horse on a road where there is going to be a lot of traffic.

To be honest if they are only wanting half your getting away lightly!

Tucker

cardinalbiggles wrote: »

To be honest if they are only wanting half your getting away lightly!

Yeh, don't look a gift horse in the....... mouth!

Have you asked why he's not going via his insurance? Sounds like he might not have any!

Mind you, if you are taking a horse on a public road, you are crazy not to either or at least check the owner has cover!
Imagine this was far more serious and some wound up dead!

There are plenty of policies for horses out there. IF this one is on loan at least check with the owner first, as they may well be insured for the animal which will include Public Liability cover for events such as this.

Gloomendoom

Probably over dramatic but read this and weep...

Horse Insurance

MartialArtMan

Thats all very helpful thank you.

mustrum_ridcully

Scooby_Doo. wrote: »

Seems strange he's only asking for half.

I'm not, look at what the highway code says about horses and overtaking... especially as the driver was too close.

HWC 163 - give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car (see Rules 211-215)

HWC 215 - Horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles. Be particularly careful of horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles especially when overtaking. Always pass wide and slowly. Horse riders are often children, so take extra care and remember riders may ride in double file when escorting a young or inexperienced horse or rider. Look out for horse riders’ and horse drivers’ signals and heed a request to slow down or stop. Take great care and treat all horses as a potential hazard; they can be unpredictable, despite the efforts of their rider/driver.

I'd say this accident could well be considered to be 100% the fault of the driver.

Scooby_Doo.

mustrum_ridcully wrote: »

I'm not, look at what the highway code says about horses and overtaking... especially as the driver was too close.

HWC 163 - give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car (see Rules 211-215)

HWC 215 - Horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles. Be particularly careful of horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles especially when overtaking. Always pass wide and slowly. Horse riders are often children, so take extra care and remember riders may ride in double file when escorting a young or inexperienced horse or rider. Look out for horse riders’ and horse drivers’ signals and heed a request to slow down or stop. Take great care and treat all horses as a potential hazard; they can be unpredictable, despite the efforts of their rider/driver.

I'd say this accident could well be considered to be 100% the fault of the driver.

The Highway Code is just a guide, can you back that up with an offence under the RTA showing the driver did wrong?

HalfPint

Hi,

Is your daughter a member of the bhs? she may be covered through them.

Ultimately, if your daughter is riding a horse on a public highway, then she should be insured to do so, for her own protection. the owner of the horse should also have insurance.

It will be difficult to prove the driver was at fault and I suspect he/she is trying to avoid claiming on his own vehicle insurance.

I'd be tempted to call the bhs and ask for advice (i'm sure they have a legal dept for this sort of thing) and if they can't help I'd pay the half (make sure you see quotes from the garage first though!) and make sure you get proper insurance for your daughter.

HP x

Strider590

Best way to pass a horse is quickly and quietly, less chance of spooking them! Unfortunately most people crawl past, which can really freak them out!

That said..... I have little tolerance for horses at like 8am (same goes for tractors). I did once wind down the window and shout "GET A !!!!ING JOB!!!" when two riders going in opposite directions decided to stop, spread out a linen table cloth across the horses backs and have morning tea and biscuits in the middle of the fooooooking road!

mandragora_2

If you're insured with NFU, you might get off scott free. That's what happened to me, when someone riding one horse and also leading a second horse at the same time pulled into a gateway, and waved me past. I drove slowly and carfeully by, giving as much room as was possible on the lane; one horse spooked the other, and the horse being led knocked back into my car and damaged the door and mirror. None of it was, according to the NFU the rider's fault at all, and I had to sort it all out myself. Bitter? Not me. It wasn't helped by the fact that I'd only had the car a couple of weeks.