Didn't slow down for horses on the road today, not sure if I was to blame though...

trouble is what ever the reason for speeding, the end result is the same.


speed kills this is why i am devastated still at the lost of my kitty who was killed from speeding when drivers had to pass the slow sign on the rd and warning sign and 40mph.

No excuse for riders not to be reflective, as for riding out in dusk I have no problem with it as long as you are lit up like a beacon



tabard
leg wraps
rug
lights
hat band
tail and martingale wraps .

i love these see u lights have one on each leg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsoFLiQWHrE





be seen be safe thats my moto
 
Taking the speed out of it? The riders are still muppets and I still think they won't have learned from it.

Myself and my OH were out one day, he was driving. We were on a fast country road (60 limit) with a few curving bends, uphill, lots of trees, sunny day; we were travelling at around 50mph, OH managed to slow to around 45mph by the time we passed the dark bay/black horse and rider clad in dark clothes, riding along in the shade of the trees. She was wearing a tabard, but it was so dirty as to make it pointless. We received a very dirty look from her! But not as dirty as her tabard :rolleyes:

Driving round a tight, downhill bend, on a 60mph road (you'd be nuts to go anywhere near that!) at dusk. The only reason I saw the four horses was because the one at the back was grey! :eek: They got an earful :D

Some people just don't seem to be prepared to take responsibility for their own safety.
 
If nothing else OP you have convinced me I need more reflective...I usually use exercise sheet and tabard but I hadnt thought carefully enough about from the front...I will now go shopping so thank you :) in my defense, because I have to ride over m25 to go anywhere worthwhile, hubby also follows me in the car so big disco with flashing hazards probably helps?!

I agree you were brave to post this. Plenty of people don't slow down for us but I still smile and say thank you in the hope they might next time...on the flip side, there are so many round here that don't say thank you and that really riles me but that is for a different thread. X
 
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Shadeyoak said:
No horse rider, be it trussed like a christmas tree, or not, appreciates a speeding car coming up behind them.. If on a sign posted road, please slow down, what ever the time, because people do ride out in the dark, for some, it's the only time they can due to work commitments..
I don't think they could have claimed insurance any way as the lack of decent fluorescent items on each horse, would have made the insurance company refuse to pay out..
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IMO riding horses on the roads in the dark, all beit the only time you can ride due to work commitments, is far too risky and dangerous. As many people have said here, no one would expect to drive round the next corner in the dark and find a horse - even if it is dressed up like a christmas tree!! I would feel I would have to sell my horse rather than risk it and me being injured by a vehicle if I had no time to ride during daylight hours.
However, I do agree with you that riders who don't wear hi-viz when riding on the roads risk having their insurance refuse to pay out because they didn't do everything in their power to be seen and visible.
 
If conditions are bad to drive in, then that too should have reduced your speed. Hi vis gives a driver a few extra seconds, as does driving at an appropriate speed for road & conditions. Yes, they should have had hi viz too though. But tbh, while I always wear it, its only more recently its become the norm, as a kid/teen we hacked for hours, often getting caught out by dull weather & early dusks. But can't say we thought we deserved to be sped past. All at fault really.
 
You were both in the wrong.
Luckily nothing happened, so leave it at that and be thankful! And next time.. slow down :p
 
If you were aware of the possibility of horses out on that stretch of road, what ever time of day, whatever weather, you should have born that in mind and been more careful.

I ride and drive in twisty, narrow Devon lanes and for certain it is not worth taking any risks with speed. If we, as horse owners, aren't aware and careful how can we be upset about the non-horsey folk who drive around with out due care and attention to riders?
 
For Gods sake. Chill the ****** out. 50 in a 40, what's the big hoo ha?
I drive at whatever speed I feel safe.
Regards to you winding down your window, bless you, I would have just muttered something to myself, and driven off singing along to the radio.
 
littlelegs said:
If conditions are bad to drive in, then that too should have reduced your speed. Hi vis gives a driver a few extra seconds, as does driving at an appropriate speed for road & conditions. Yes, they should have had hi viz too though. But tbh, while I always wear it, its only more recently its become the norm, as a kid/teen we hacked for hours, often getting caught out by dull weather & early dusks. But can't say we thought we deserved to be sped past. All at fault really.
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this.
taking the riders out of the question for a moment.I'm amazed some drivers seem to think it is pretty usual to up the speed limit by 10mls when road conditions are bad. aren't you supposed to go slower?

whether you expected o encounter riders at that time of evening or not, you know the road is used by them. in wet conditions if one of those horses had spooked at something you could have easily skidded into them whther the riders were wearing hi vis or ballet tutu's. it wouldnt have mattered.

please drive according to the road conditions especially when you know riders use the road wether you 'expect' them at that time or not.

no wonder there are so many accidents and im sorry if you think ive been harsh on you OP but speeding makes me very cross.
 
*Spider* said:
For Gods sake. Chill the ****** out. 50 in a 40, what's the big hoo ha?
I drive at whatever speed I feel safe.
Regards to you winding down your window, bless you, I would have just muttered something to myself, and driven off singing along to the radio.
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Well I am glad that you live so far away from me!
Just as a matter of interest, which other laws do you break because you feel you have better judgement?
 
What Yorks G said. Obviously the OP thought it was safe & was wrong. Luckily this time it wasn't fatal & I expect she will be a bit more speed concious for a while. As for riding out on the roads in the dark - lets hope its not the same road as spider!
 
Agree with pedantic, faults all round. Kudos to you op for owning up and realising your error. Pity the riders didn't do the same.

You've given me some food for thought re speeding which i have been known to do on country roads. Thanks :)
 
Not read all replies so sorry if mentioned b4, Sometimes riders get caught out with the change of the weather, when the light begins to fail at night, when riding on roads they can only hope they can get back to yard safely and not to run into anyone speeding in said conditions. they did have hi viz on, not as much as you think they should of, would hi viz bands on their hats have helped you see them better?
What hi viz do you think would of stood out more to alert you to them? just asking as can help others.
 
Wow, that's a bit harsh YorksG.
Yes the OP was in the wrong, she freely admits it... but the riders were also in the wrong. If I was one of the riders in that situation, I would be thankful she slowed down and apologised at all. I don't know what the majority of drivers are like over there, but here the vast majority are absolute idiots. I have been abused, tooted, had bottles thrown at me and my horse and had cars and motor bikes scream past me because they think it's fun to scare horses that are being ridden - Not all the time, but it has happened, never have I been apologised to because someone didn't see me.

Cindydog - Tail reflectors, reflective and hi vis leg wraps, reflective breastplates, tabbards, helmet bands... anything that they can do to make themselves stand out as much as possible. You can see me coming a mile away when I ride out, regardless of the weather.
 
I don't see why people speed. I accidently went 31 in a 30 zone and I felt terrible! (Though, Mother tells me it's a few MPH out, so I might still have been under)

It's a speed LIMIT, not a speed TARGET.

That said, I nearly squished a cyclist who was out in the dark/rain with no lights or hi-viz. It was only because I had full beam on that I saw him!
Why do people not understand that to be avoided, they need to be seen?!
 
Faults all round, BUT its not ilegal to ride on roads with out high viz. Its is however ilegal to speed. With poor driving conditions you should have been going slower and you would have been in trouble had there been a accident.
Even had you seen the riders sooner what would have happened if one of the horses had shyed out etc??
Speed limits are there for a reason, SLOW DOWN
 
If it was THAT dim and wet that the OP didn't see them until she passed them, then I honestly can't see that driving at 40mph would have made much difference to her noticing. At 50 OR 40mph hitting a horse would kill it, so not really much point in arguing over the speed. I wouldn't take my horse out on a fast road in those conditions.....
 
flitz02 said:
Im sorry but we have ALL driven faster than we should....no great scandal & im sorry but anyone who says they havent ....is telling porkies!!!
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Yes, of course, but it depends very much on road conditions and visibility. There are some roads and situations where it is arguably safe to exceed the speed limit, where traffic is very light and one would be able to see hazards and take timely action - many motorways for example. There are others where the official speed limit is almost always too high - for example, the main shopping road here in the West End of Glasgow (Byres Road) has a speed limit of 30mph, but I almost never go faster than 25mph and often much slower, simply because it is usually choc full of potential hazards, people crossing etc. It sounds like OP was speeding unwisely in this case.
 
From an advanced drivers view point ....

SAFETY FIRST
LEGAL second
CONVENIENCE third

Wet conditions even on a road you know well should mean doing a lower speed than usual especially if vision is compromised

Putting a personal agenda first (being late) is never an excuse for poor driving

Always assume that there will be something unexpected instead of what normally happens



Conclusion for the OP - you were goiing to fast for the conditions which led to it becoming unsafe

Never blame something else for ones own poor driving which is clearly what happened here as there was something reasonable which you could have done
 
You where in the wrong by driving OVER the speed limit, especially in wet conditions, and on a road you knew was frequented by horses.

Yes they should have been wearing more hi vis but not everyone does and you have to change your attitude and driving to allow for the fact that there may be horse riders not wearing hi vis. You can do this by staying under the speed limit so you can slow down in time for them. I'm sorry but I do think there is no denying that you are at fault here.
 
I agree that some comments here are a bit harsh. OP admitted she was in the wrong as well, she could have omitted to mention that, and I'm sure the responses may have been different. The silver lining here is that she has reminded everyone that speed, poor conditions and barely visible horses are a bad combination.
 
smokey said:
I agree that some comments here are a bit harsh. OP admitted she was in the wrong as well, she could have omitted to mention that, and I'm sure the responses may have been different. The silver lining here is that she has reminded everyone that speed, poor conditions and barely visible horses are a bad combination.
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the comments might be a bit harsh because a car is a lethal weapon on wheels and the consequences of being blase about driving too fast in this way is not be a little tap on the wrist for being a naughty girl, but potential death and carnage
 
domane said:
If it was THAT dim and wet that the OP didn't see them until she passed them, then I honestly can't see that driving at 40mph would have made much difference to her noticing. At 50 OR 40mph hitting a horse would kill it, so not really much point in arguing over the speed. I wouldn't take my horse out on a fast road in those conditions.....
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i agree with this ^^. If you hit the horse, theres a good chance it would be fatal speeding or not. I believe its a riders responsability to make sure they are seen and are as safe as is possible. I for one would not be out on the roads in crap weather, not worth the risk IMO. Good on the OP for realising her mistake, its one less driver to worry about on this rat race we call roads.
 
nixxyz said:
i agree with this ^^. If you hit the horse, theres a good chance it would be fatal speeding or not.
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you dont get it do you?
there's MORE chance of hitting it in the first place if you're speeding and the roads are wet. The faster you're going the less stopping distance you have to brake in an emergency.
 
lula said:
the comments might be a bit harsh because a car is a lethal weapon on wheels and the consequences of being blase about driving too fast in this way is not be a little tap on the wrist for being a naughty girl, but potential death and carnage
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I think we all know that a car can be a lethal weapon, including the OP. think the key word here is "potential". Yes, she was lucky, as were the riders, she will probably in future drive more carefully. However, I doubt that the riders in question will change anything.
I'll hold my hands up, I have been known to drive over the speed limit, I don't believe that there is a single person here who hasn't. If the OP had stated that she had been drinking, fair play, she would deserve a slating. However, as I said, she could have omitted to say she was speeding, and I'm sure the responses would have been totally different.
 
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