Horse on dual carriageway = smashed windscreen!

cootuk

Wasn't it on Mythbusters where they showed some big animals just had their legs whipped from under them, so u got massive windscreen damage with few other marks.

muckybutt

im-lost wrote: »

Ok then, as nobody else has brought it up..

Is this something you really want to be reporting to the police?
surely the fact that 'hubby' crashed in to a horse would be driving
without due care and attention.

you don't make it sound like the horse ran in to the car.. and a horse
on a road isn't something you can just not 'see'

Surely the actions of any sane person would have been to pull over
and alert the police that there was a horse on the road.

But to drive past, at such a speed that you are able to hit the horse and
sustain damage to the car just beggars belief.

What a load of rollocks, driving without dca ? get real !!

Have a read http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/9638427.Driver___s_horse_crash_horror/

For a start tethering horses at the side of roads is illegal in many counties, some authorities act on it and seize the horses, then some like York ignore it even when there is a serious rtc.

Horses are unpredictable at the best of times even more so when loose so dca has noting to do with it, as for not reporting it that would also be illegal. Reportable animal collisions are : A dog (as well as a goat, horse, cattle, !!!, mule, sheep and pig) does come within the remit of the Road Traffic Act and are reportable as an accident so you are required by law to report it to the police within 24 hours.

Raksha

muckybutt wrote: »

Horses are unpredictable at the best of times even more so when loose so dca has noting to do with it, as for not reporting it that would also be illegal. Reportable animal collisions are : A dog (as well as a goat, horse, cattle, !!!, mule, sheep and pig) does come within the remit of the Road Traffic Act and are reportable as an accident so you are required by law to report it to the police within 24 hours.

By your own admission, horses are unpredictable - so you need to adjust your speed/acceleration/direction of travel accordingly. Not doing so is driving without due care.

Weird_Nev

Raksha wrote: »

By your own admission, horses are unpredictable - so you need to adjust your speed/acceleration/direction of travel accordingly. Not doing so is driving without due care.

And you're posting without due care.
I don't think you've ever driven on rural roads, have you.
You might not be aware that there is a horse/deer anywhere near until it's sat on your passenger seat.

Raksha

Weird_Nev wrote: »

And you're posting without due care.
I don't think you've ever driven on rural roads, have you.
You might not be aware that there is a horse/deer anywhere near until it's sat on your passenger seat.

LOL - that's a good one - I lived in a rural community for nearly 20 years, making the journey along rural roads most days. You drive as if there's an obstacle around each and every corner and should be prepared to take appropriate action - don't forget you don't have to drive as if you are on Top Gear - and those guys have vehicles infront and behind ensuring their route is safe.

muckybutt

Raksha wrote: »

By your own admission, horses are unpredictable - so you need to adjust your speed/acceleration/direction of travel accordingly. Not doing so is driving without due care.

What a load of cods wallop !

So you are saying : driving along on a dual carrageway doing 65 at rush hour, you see a horse at the side of the road so you slow down causing the traffic behind to slam their brakes on possibly causing an accident, or you move accross into lane two again so as to avoid the horse ? ? what a load of !!!!!!!.

DWDCA definition as per blackstones police manual / RTA 1988 s3 Careless, and inconsiderate, driving.E+W+S
If a person drives a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or other public place without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road or place, he is guilty of an offence.

Meaning of careless, or inconsiderate, drivingE+W+S
(1)This section has effect for the purposes of sections 2B and 3 above and section 3A below.
(2)A person is to be regarded as driving without due care and attention if (and only if) the way he drives falls below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver.
(3)In determining for the purposes of subsection (2) above what would be expected of a careful and competent driver in a particular case, regard shall be had not only to the circumstances of which he could be expected to be aware but also to any circumstances shown to have been within the knowledge of the accused.
(4)A person is to be regarded as driving without reasonable consideration for other persons only if those persons are inconvenienced by his driving.

So having read that, would you slow down on a dual carrageway so as to start to hold traffic up behind you ? if so then you could be construde as Driving Carelessly as you are not driving giving consideration to other road users.

With reference to country lanes then driving down a lane at say 60 on a single track road would be Careless driving. Where do you want to draw the line ? Simply seeing a horse tethered at the side of the road is no reason to slam the anchors on, if the horses or cattle for that matter are loose then yes you do need to act accordingly and be prepaired to slow or stop if needed.

thenudeone

muckybutt wrote: »

Reportable animal collisions are : A dog (as well as a goat, horse, cattle, !!!, mule, sheep and pig) does come within the remit of the Road Traffic Act and are reportable as an accident so you are required by law to report it to the police within 24 hours.

The driver is required to report the accident as soon as reasonably practicable http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/170 s170 6) b). So: if they put in a shift at work and get a nights sleep and then report it the next morning, they've broken the law, even if 24 hours isn't up (unless they were on an island and that was the earliest ferry!)

But the owner of the horse has no obligation to report an accident. They may not even know about the accident, so how can they be obliged to report it? Neither do they have any obligation to give their details, even if they are aware (AFAIK), so trying to claim against the horse's owner for allowing it to stray on the carriageway could be near impossible.

To suggest that a driver hitting an animal loose on a road is guilty of DWDCA, is frankly ridiculous - where do people get these ideas from?

muckybutt

thenudeone wrote: »

The driver is required to report the accident as soon as reasonably practicable http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/170 s170 6) b). So: if they put in a shift at work and get a nights sleep and then report it the next morning, they've broken the law, even if 24 hours isn't up (unless they were on an island and that was the earliest ferry!)

Ill beg to differ with that as it clearly says within 24 hrs !

(6)To comply with a duty under this section to report an accident or to produce such a certificate of insurance or security, or other evidence, as is mentioned in section 165(2)(a) of this Act, the driver—
(a)must do so at a police station or to a constable, and
(b)must do so as soon as is reasonably practicable and, in any case, within twenty-four hours of the occurrence of the accident.

thenudeone wrote: »

To suggest that a driver hitting an animal loose on a road is guilty of DWDCA, is frankly ridiculous - where do people get these ideas from?

My sentiments exactly

Raksha

There is a difference between hitting an animal which is being driven on a public highway and hitting one which leaps out of a gateway (which is what i understand happened in the OP's case). My argument is that it is not unreasonable to expect ridden horses on country roads, and if you drive down them not prepared to slow down safely, then you are DWDCA. It also depends on the visibility - if you are on a major road, and the potential obstruction is easily visible ahead, then slowing down and being prepared to stop is feasible - to continue at the same speed once aware would be foolish. However, if the obstruction is around a corner and the abscence of any warning signs that there may be a hazard ahead (they're the triangular ones ) then maybe not.

rev_henry

Raksha wrote: »

LOL - that's a good one - I lived in a rural community for nearly 20 years, making the journey along rural roads most days. You drive as if there's an obstacle around each and every corner and should be prepared to take appropriate action - don't forget you don't have to drive as if you are on Top Gear - and those guys have vehicles infront and behind ensuring their route is safe.

Its quite possible to do both if you know the roads well enough.