Daughters horse hit a car

brighthair

paddedjohn wrote: »

Times have changed and there is no place on our roads for horses. They are not a viable means of transport anymore and should be kept in fields where the ground is softer for them,if you want your fun on your horsey then go in the fields out of everyones way. Maybe if this happened, the need to nail pieces of iron to their feet could done away with as they wouldnt need to be walking on tarmac or concrete.

nice suggestion. I would love to just ride in fields, but unfortunately the fields belong to people, they're not common land. And to get to a field or a bridleway I have to go on the road. Horses don't wear shoes for tarmac, and mine wears none and actually has better grip on the road

Any horse can spook, they're not a machine. As long as drivers go past wide and slow, most are fine. But some drivers seem to define wide as 6 inches and slow as 40mph. I've had so many near misses on the roads whilst riding, but I've also come across rude horseriders while driving so I can see both sides of it

Horse riders should wear high viz, be considerate of other road users, and avoid riding in rush hours when possible
Drivers should be aware what the "please slow down" signal means, and also realise sometimes I can't take my hands off the reins to wave thank you, but I will do this at you instead :D

mumps

asbokid wrote: »

"The Highway Code advises that riders never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on busy or narrow roads and when riding round bends."

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/horse-rider-liability/

It doesn't say they must ride two abreast does it? If riding two abreast makes it impossible for me to overtake leaving enough room to avoid upsetting the horse isn't that rather silly? If horse riders want us to show consideration then they should do the same.

brighthair

mumps wrote: »

It doesn't say they must ride two abreast does it? If riding two abreast makes it impossible for me to overtake leaving enough room to avoid upsetting the horse isn't that rather silly? If horse riders want us to show consideration then they should do the same.

sometimes riders ride like that so they can "pin" a spooky horse, or inexperienced rider/horse on the inside. Safer so that it doesn't spook into traffic
You can do a lot of desensitising work in an arena or field, but the main way for a horse to get used to being on the road, is to go on the road
Sadly sometimes riding 2 abreast is also a way to get cars to slow down. I tend to ride slightly more away from the verge, as cars see you more as an obstacle then

Flyboy152

brighthair wrote: »

sometimes riders ride like that so they can "pin" a spooky horse, or inexperienced rider/horse on the inside. Safer so that it doesn't spook into traffic
You can do a lot of desensitising work in an arena or field, but the main way for a horse to get used to being on the road, is to go on the road
Sadly sometimes riding 2 abreast is also a way to get cars to slow down. I tend to ride slightly more away from the verge, as cars see you more as an obstacle then

Or as a unnecessary obstruction.

Desensitising for traffic is one thing, but it does not have to happen on single track lanes.

mumps

brighthair wrote: »

sometimes riders ride like that so they can "pin" a spooky horse, or inexperienced rider/horse on the inside. Safer so that it doesn't spook into traffic
You can do a lot of desensitising work in an arena or field, but the main way for a horse to get used to being on the road, is to go on the road
Sadly sometimes riding 2 abreast is also a way to get cars to slow down. I tend to ride slightly more away from the verge, as cars see you more as an obstacle then

That's fair enough but I can think of more than one occasion when I have been behind two women riding along chatting oblivious to the cars backing up behind them, I could get round but would have been close and I won't do this. On one occasion a driver behind me got fed up and went round me and then the horses, getting very close. The horses didn't seem very bothered but the chatty riders were shouting and making rude gestures and then just carried on, I went round when the road got wide enough but they had ridden past gateways and could easily have let people pass. Just rude and inconsiderate. I know drivers can be inconsiderate as well but when riders behave like this you begin to understand why some people lose patience.

brighthair

mumps wrote: »

That's fair enough but I can think of more than one occasion when I have been behind two women riding along chatting oblivious to the cars backing up behind them, I could get round but would have been close and I won't do this. On one occasion a driver behind me got fed up and went round me and then the horses, getting very close. The horses didn't seem very bothered but the chatty riders were shouting and making rude gestures and then just carried on, I went round when the road got wide enough but they had ridden past gateways and could easily have let people pass. Just rude and inconsiderate. I know drivers can be inconsiderate as well but when riders behave like this you begin to understand why some people lose patience.

yes, that is just rude. If there is a driveway or something to pull in to, it always make sense to do it

brighthair

Flyboy152 wrote: »

Or as a unnecessary obstruction.

Desensitising for traffic is one thing, but it does not have to happen on single track lanes.

true. But then I think you expect to see horses on country lanes, not A roads!
It's unwinnable really - take your horse in a wagon somewhere, people hat being stuck behind it. Go on a country lane, people don't like it. Ride on an A road, more dangerous, faster traffic, and people say you should be on quiet roads

skiddlydiddly

alastairq wrote: »

erm..no it doesn't.



'dangerous position' makes no specific reference to a bend....blind or otherwise.

Obstruction is also only proven if there is insufficient room to physically pass.....in actual terms, not a driver's opinion, either.

The onus of care is placed upon every road user.

And that includes a driver approaching, perhaps, a bend they cannot see clearly around.

Mention further down the HC is made regarding the parking on bends....as a Do Not

Does it list all the places that would be considered dangerous too?No it does not, hence me giving an example of it.
I then added the Do Not to further back it up.

As for the onus of care on every driver, that's exactly what I put and even mentioned the person coming around the bend.Are you even reading my posts or just quuoting them?

Flyboy152

Markyt wrote: »

I met a driver like you once, very similar attitude. I'm insured to the hilt, but given the histrionics of the tosspot who had pulled up close before beeping their horn, and then expected me to pay for the hoof-shaped hole in the radiator, I chose to disappear off slowly instead - safe in the knowledge I had no registration plate to track me with.

How very upstanding and responsible of you. Much like the self-important arrogant !!!!!! we get from the equestrians around here.

alastairq

How very upstanding and responsible of you.

Careful..or you'll be expecting such from the drivers on here as well.....