Encountered my first idiot driver today - still shaking!

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narkymare

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My friend and i had a loveley hack out this afternoon, she is helping me build my confidence etc etc.
We got back to the main road outside our yard, its the main road into leeds so is very busy and we wait on a big grass verge at side of it to wait for clearance.
As usual, a huge 4 by4 saw us (both of us and our horses all hi-vizzed) and slowed down to stop, causing everyone behind him to stop - about another 2 cars.
As soon a sa safe gap came on other side of road we stepped out, me behind her and woosh - as soon as wed got almost past the 4by4 an idiot driver hurtled towards us - hed overtaken all the waiting cars!!!
He just missed my friend and her horse and had to slam all on - luckliy both horses behaved well even though his brakes screeched.
Im just appalled - who in their right minds would overtaking stopped cars???? Its nto as if he thought they were parked - its not that sort of road, more a dual carriageway!!!!:(:(:(
 
narkymare said:
My friend and i had a loveley hack out this afternoon, she is helping me build my confidence etc etc.
We got back to the main road outside our yard, its the main road into leeds so is very busy and we wait on a big grass verge at side of it to wait for clearance.
As usual, a huge 4 by4 saw us (both of us and our horses all hi-vizzed) and slowed down to stop, causing everyone behind him to stop - about another 2 cars.
As soon a sa safe gap came on other side of road we stepped out, me behind her and woosh - as soon as wed got almost past the 4by4 an idiot driver hurtled towards us - hed overtaken all the waiting cars!!!
He just missed my friend and her horse and had to slam all on - luckliy both horses behaved well even though his brakes screeched.
Im just appalled - who in their right minds would overtaking stopped cars???? Its nto as if he thought they were parked - its not that sort of road, more a dual carriageway!!!!:(:(:(
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Absolute ****end, some of these people should never be on the road! I really feel for you, it could've been much worse. Are there signs down that road warning of horse riders? There are so many ignorant idiots around nowadays, the sort of people who are all "it wont happen to me" until it does...no one can afford to think like that!
 
thanks trish - i never thought of that, yes i do my horse is safe in these circumstances.
I do hope the driver has learnt a lesson - it could so easily ahve been very very nasty.
I do know i will now dread crossing roads even more now especially if cars stop for us which is sad
I love my yard so much but to get anywhere you have to do roadwork on very busy roadsx
 
It's scary out there isn't it, whether you are on a horse, on foot, on a cycle or a motorbike, cars rule seems to be the trend and sod anyone else, not all of course just a minority but is it me or does it seem to be getting worse?
Glad you are ok though and your horses, take care, Oz
 
Pleased you are all OK, but it doesn't sound like the driver scared you on purpose. He obviously did not see you (even though you were high vized up). I remember doing something similar - overtaking cards going excessively slowly only to find a hearse at the front!

How embarassing!
 
Firstly thank goodness you are all alright and no harm done to human or horse.

Secondly, maybe will teach the irresponsible driver a lesson - what ARE people like these days.

Well done you for being hi-vizzed up and for your sane and sensible horses.
 
mcnaughty said:
Pleased you are all OK, but it doesn't sound like the driver scared you on purpose. He obviously did not see you (even though you were high vized up). I remember doing something similar - overtaking cards going excessively slowly only to find a hearse at the front!

How embarassing!
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He may not have scared them on purpose, but it sounds like all the cars in front of him were stationary so maybe he ought to have used his brains and considered the fact that they were probably stopped for a reason?
OP I really feel for you, it sounds terrifying! Near misses with traffic always make me sick to my stomach and my sister has gotten so nervous about riding in traffic that she doesn't enjoy hacking her horse out as he's a bit on the spooky side. She actually prefers my mare when it comes to hacking because she's very unlikely to end up in the middle of the road. Once I've finished uni and learnt to drive we're hoping to move them somewhere with lots of off-road hacking. It's just a pipe dream atm though :(
 
Unfortunately there are idiots out there. And they very rarely learn.

I very nearly smashed a car windscreen in with my beating stick once because a complete knob who had been made to wait for us to cross a road decided to speed off whilst surrounded by the picking up dogs. I've looked out for that car ever since lol!
 
HashRouge said:
He may not have scared them on purpose, but it sounds like all the cars in front of him were stationary so maybe he ought to have used his brains and considered the fact that they were probably stopped for a reason?
OP I really feel for you, it sounds terrifying! Near misses with traffic always make me sick to my stomach and my sister has gotten so nervous about riding in traffic that she doesn't enjoy hacking her horse out as he's a bit on the spooky side. She actually prefers my mare when it comes to hacking because she's very unlikely to end up in the middle of the road. Once I've finished uni and learnt to drive we're hoping to move them somewhere with lots of off-road hacking. It's just a pipe dream atm though :(
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ty - yes i am very much like your sister. I love my yard, its half an hours walk from my home which is vital to me because i am on diy and it ensures i can always get there even in deepest snow.
The yo and other liveries are brilliant - its just this one issue. To get anywhere decent you have to cross busy main roads.
My horse is good though - as he prooved today thank goodness but my idea of heaven would be total off road hacking x
 
It is so very lucky the horses didn't get run over or take fright. By the way narkymare I know who you are! I am the Facebook friend you are gradually turning into a Martian with the surname beginning with L. Ha ha.
 
Divasmum said:
It is so very lucky the horses didn't get run over or take fright. By the way narkymare I know who you are! I am the Facebook friend you are gradually turning into a Martian with the surname beginning with L. Ha ha.
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lol martian!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hahaaha i didnt know your name on here!!!!! :D
 
Ooh, which yard are you on- and which road?? I am from Leeds - are you talking about the A58 or another road?

There are far too many idiots about like this - I am always wary if anyone stops to let us cross a road as you have to be prepared for some kn*b who hasn't thought about WHY the cars infront may have stoppes. I am sorry ANYONE who thinks they are ok to overtake a queue of STATIONARY or even slow moving traffic is a prat. There is a REASON why cars have stopped and slows so THINK!!!! I'm sorry, who ever said they did this once I would question your driving ability? Unless you can see clearly you should not ever do this. A few seconds or ignorant/stupid driving like this can mean actually mean the differemce between life and death.

I know of an instance where exactly this had happened - a car stopped to let the horse rider infront turn right (off the road she was on) into another road (so car driver stopped exactly as they should). Another tw*t comes along, sees stationary car but doesn't think at all and overtakes hitting the horse and rider. Horse was killed and the rider was very seriously injured. Just a few seconds of thinking on the driver's part and this tragedy needn't have happened.

There are far too many bad drivers about these days and i don't mean just from a horse rider's point of view, just in general. It's quite worrying sometimes the lack of common sense and driving ability some people have (or don't have!)
 
Shame you didn't get his reg plate. you could have reported it. No nothing major would happen, but still having the police warn you would be enough to make him think.

Last week I was following a hearse, I was about 7 cars back, going through a 30 past a school and some stupid boy racers shot past. Not an open road with good vision for overtaking anything and they couldn't make it all the way so had to cut in infront of another car which nearly caused an accident in itself!

People need to slow down and THINK!
 
ladyt25 said:
Ooh, which yard are you on- and which road?? I am from Leeds - are you talking about the A58 or another road?

There are far too many idiots about like this - I am always wary if anyone stops to let us cross a road as you have to be prepared for some kn*b who hasn't thought about WHY the cars infront may have stoppes. I am sorry ANYONE who thinks they are ok to overtake a queue of STATIONARY or even slow moving traffic is a prat. There is a REASON why cars have stopped and slows so THINK!!!! I'm sorry, who ever said they did this once I would question your driving ability? Unless you can see clearly you should not ever do this. A few seconds or ignorant/stupid driving like this can mean actually mean the differemce between life and death.

I know of an instance where exactly this had happened - a car stopped to let the horse rider infront turn right (off the road she was on) into another road (so car driver stopped exactly as they should). Another tw*t comes along, sees stationary car but doesn't think at all and overtakes hitting the horse and rider. Horse was killed and the rider was very seriously injured. Just a few seconds of thinking on the driver's part and this tragedy needn't have happened.

There are far too many bad drivers about these days and i don't mean just from a horse rider's point of view, just in general. It's quite worrying sometimes the lack of common sense and driving ability some people have (or don't have!)
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i will pm you x
 
narkymare said:
i didnt - and im so so annoyed with myself!!!!
i just wanted to make sure both horses were ok and get over the dammed road!!!
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my mate did though lol - shes much more experienced than me and has nerves of steel - she gave him some very apt finger movements lol xx
 
yes I had one of those on monday overtook my young horse, 3 weeks on the road and his companion horse on a narrow country lane on a blind bend,couldnt wait for a minute whilst i got youngster round point of bend and on to verge. youngster was scared by this car squeezing past, lashed out and smashed the car door and wing,dumped me on the road and took off on three legs , thankfully caught him quickly, all the driver could say was "what about my car ". So now Ive got lame, injured and scared young horse, who until this point had never put a foot wrong all because some idiot couldnt wait 1 minute.
 
Awful these sort of things isn't it, i've had various similar experiences, one time the passenger was filming... i can only presume to catch the horses reaction?

And un-fortunately quiet country lane or busy main road, idiot drivers are indeed EVERYWHERE. Glad your both okay though
 
irishdraft said:
yes I had one of those on monday overtook my young horse, 3 weeks on the road and his companion horse on a narrow country lane on a blind bend,couldnt wait for a minute whilst i got youngster round point of bend and on to verge. youngster was scared by this car squeezing past, lashed out and smashed the car door and wing,dumped me on the road and took off on three legs , thankfully caught him quickly, all the driver could say was "what about my car ". So now Ive got lame, injured and scared young horse, who until this point had never put a foot wrong all because some idiot couldnt wait 1 minute.
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Just read this, absolutely dreadful. I hope he makes a full recovery, what damage has he done (horse, not car)
 
Irishdraft. Report the incident to the police and ask for an incident number. Get some legal advice from a specialist equine solicitor and take a private action against the driver for both physical and mental damage against your horse and yourself.
 
To be fair Narkymare, I'd expect a driver who'd stopped because of something unusual happening in the road in front of him to put his hazard warning lights on...and the drivers behind him. That way "late arrival" drivers at the back of the queue know to wait or at least progress with extreme caution. I'm not in any way condoning excess speed but on a main road, that driver wouldn't necessarily have assumed anything other than that the 3 stationary cars were just parked. We want drivers to see things from our point of view, but we need to try to see things from their side too.
 
What an awful experience for you - pleased you are all OK. I used to ride on the road a lot when I lived in the UK and could paper the walls with stories. A lady driver who had slowed down behind three of us because it was not safe to overtake at that point, was rammed by a boy racer coming up behind!!!

I had a similar experience to you driving my Ralli Car back from a local show to the livery yard. I had to make a right turn, and had my arm out indicating this. The cars behind me all slowed down and waited, As I reached the junction and was about to turn, again I spotted and idiot out of the corner of my eye overtaking the queue!!! He was able to stop if not and I had turned without seeing him he would have hit my poor horse broad side.

The problem is that penalties for killing and injuring horses are not severe enough. I am for bringing back hanging!!
 
Thanks folks for you replies/concern to my post, my youngster has a big fetlock plus a nasty cut, is also lame, thats to be expected it was a hell of bang, im left with a bad back and neck from hitting the deck/road probably get better just trauma. What upsets me the most is that this horse who i have had since he was 5 months was backed and hacked as a 3 year old, and now i have got him up from his winter off, again he has been solid as a rock, met all sorts of traffic never ever had a problem, yes he is quick to react but this idiot must have been at the most 2 foot off my youngsters hind quarters on a blind bend/ narrow country lane. I am a gold member BHS so have 3rd party insurance, let them know immediately was told they will ring back 24/48 hours time ??? why so long, 48 hours Im still waiting for a call, despite calling the BHS helpline last night, still nothing. Been to the police, the driver had already reported it, he was in a terrible state they said, it transpires he made no mention of the fact he was overtaking 2 horses in high viz on a blind bend on a narrow country road !!!
These are the sort of mind sets you are up against.
 
There are most certainly idiots about, had two lads racing along the lane to my yard some months back, came round a blind bend too fast, wrong side of the rode to see 16h3" of ID on the very narrow grass verge and me in black hat and breeches with a Hi-Viz coat, missed me by inches, my big-old-boy never even twitched god-love-him, think both drivers cr*pp*d themselves thinking they just missed plod lol. :D
Anyway, one of them was stupidly doing this in a works van with a telephone number on the side, his boss was very interested especially as the other vehicle was a customers car on road test!! :eek:
I did offer to pop in and remove various bits of their anatomy, but the boss was happy to do it himself!!
 
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