hacking incident - am i accountable?

This isn't first hand knowledge so I don't know exact circumstances but a friend of a friends horse kicked a passing car on a narrow lane. She had 3rd party liability insurance & the end result was that they refused to pay out as it was deemed that it was the drivers fault for passing too close. Driver had to pay for their own repair. Speak to your insurance company & hopefully that'll be the case for you too.
You've done the right thing by reporting to Police..but be prepared for the fact they may not pursue any charges as the reality is that although her actions would appear to be at least driving without due care etc, but without an independent witness they won't take a case to court that they haven't got a good chance of securing a conviction for and most magistrates won't convict when its one persons word against another.
Having to pay to have her own car repaired will hopefully make her be more considerate in the future! Good luck
 
Report to police asap & get an incident number off them.
Stick to facts when dealing with them & be calm & polite.
This is at best careless driving.
Inform insurance co also.

edited: oops, just read another post of yours- i see you have reported it.

Keep us updated & hope it goes ok for you :)
 
Good lord. Just got a text from the girl in question saying that she requires my insurance details by law as requested this afternoon.
Hmm, don't think I take too kindly to her tone!
 
Have you got her details ie. vehicle reg etc?
Don't reply until tomorrow when you've spoken to your insurance company. You were on a horse at the time so you wouldn't be expected to give your insurance details straight away.
 
I have her name and number that's all. Don't know why I didn't take the reg. Silly of me. The police advised me to speak to my insurer before I gave her anymore details. Have already replied saying as much :(
 
For all insurance companies, get slagged, they can be helpful.

This doesn't relate to horses, but back in the US, I was driving my mahoosive pickup truck behind a guy in a shiny, new mahoosive pickup truck. We were at a stop sign, he started to go, so I started to go, then he changed his mind and slammed on his brakes, as did I, but my truck slid on gravel into his truck. I must have been going all of 3mph when I hit him. Although there was no visible damage on either pickup, he was raging. He said he would take his truck to the body shop anyway in case there was invisible damage. At this point, I didn't want to go to my insurance company as I was about 22 and didn't want to lose my no claims. I said I'd just pay for the damage out of pocket, figuring I was technically liable as I'd rear ended him. And with not a scratch on the truck, how much could be?

Two days later, he phoned me and said it will cost $700. Youch! Like I had $700 to spare! I asked why it cost so much, and he put me in touch with the body shop, who explained that the bumper had been damaged, and as the truck had one of these shiny, posh chrome bumpers, that's just what they cost. After half a day of panicking, I manned up and phone my insurance company. I told them more or less what I just wrote above and they were incredibly friendly and understanding about it and said they would sort it. I phoned the guy and just said, "Expect a call from my insurance company in about five minutes." That's the last I ever heard of it. I imagine he (or the body shop) faced a much harder task wrangling $700 out of an insurance company than out of a 22-year old girl.

So hopefully, your horse insurance company will be just as friendly and helpful. And that lady can shove her text messages you-know-where.
 
Tell her you will meet up to swap police incident report numbers (since youve both supposedly reported the incident, although I have doubts whether she has tbh), along with insurance details, her car make/model and reg number.

It might make her back off to let her know you arent going to roll over for her, I think shes trying to intimidate you.
 
What an ar@e trying to con you out of money. Lovely insurance company tho. Hoping mine will say 'there there Emma we will deal with it all, you just go and drink tea in peace.' Not enjoying this stress in the slightest
 
Hopefully they will -- that's what we pay them the big bucks for. I'm no legal expert (especially in this country), but as I understand it, the personal liability cover bit of your horse insurance would pay out if the incident was deemed to be your fault. So they have every bit of interest in the world in proving that it wasn't and making the driver's insurance cough up the dough.
 
SNORKEY said:
Hi, I'm an equine liaison officer for the police. Report it to them as a dangerous driver, they will then get a road policing officer to call you for some advice. Get the police ref. number and give that to your insurer as proof you reported her for dangerous driving. It's highly unlikely any claim will be made on either side as there were no witnesses.
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There you go - you really must do this. She was driving dangerously and now she is harrassing you... Its not on!

YorksG said:
It is my understanding that as the driver of a vehicle involved in an incident with livestock that she has a responsibility to report it to the police and that it is an offence not to.
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Exactly - even if you hit a dog you must report it.
 
muff747 said:
Please would you report this on the BHS accident report web site? They need to collect the statistics as there is no requirement for the police to record the incident on their statistics.

http://www.horseaccidents.org.uk/

BTW there are some brilliant driver shocking posters you can download on the site
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Which you could plaster all over the gate of her yard!!!:D
 
I would also get a vet to check your horse out thoroughly and give a written report. If your horse is injured in any way or your horses behaviour changes in any way then you can claim from the motorist.
Someone I knew was riding their horse when it was hit by a bus. From that date onwards the horse was never as good in traffic. He took legal action against the bus company and won and they had to pay out for the reduction in value of the horse and his legal expenses.
I would also suggest that you join the BHS as a gold member as you get £10,000,000 third party insurance cover and also access to their legal advice line.
 
oh bless you how awful & worrying. glad you told the police....what an ignorant moo she sounds esp working with horses too..... A good few years ago I was riding my old girl with lots of hi-viz (my friends used to laugh at us then) & a car came down the hill speeding saw us last minute & slammed his breaks on we were on a bend car was coming the other way..Sheelagh god bless her then broke into canter from walk down the hill as the car was skidding towards us. The t*** ended up crashing into the hedge & the car going the other way turned round, called the police. The t*** was ok his car was a mess...& I was in shock...happened just down road from yard. Police attended & driver was done for dangerous driving. Sheelagh was fine...thank God...The driver said the hi viz made him put brakes on...the consequences of him not make me shiver. Let us know what your insurance say.
 
I haven't read all the replies on here so sorry if I'm repeating things.

The Highway code says that you must slow down for horses.

I would just hand the matter over to your insurance company and don't have any further contact with her, if she does contact you just tell her she must go through the insurance.

I would have thought she could also be held responsible for damage to her car as she did not slow down.
 
Excellent pearls of wisdom here. Go back and check your insurance. 3 rd party is pretty always included and that will take a weight of your mind.

As well as chasing the police for a ref number, I would text her back requesting HER insurance details and car reg, plus address. Say you are having the vet check your horse to confirm isf she has damaged your horse at all. Also inform her you have contacted the police and want her to give you the incident number as they ave no record. Think she is trying to bully you.
 
Nothing to add to the advice you've already been having but just to say, boy, are you having a rubbish week, and send best wishes for the move on Saturday and a whole new era!
 
moleskinsmum said:
Nothing to add to the advice you've already been having but just to say, boy, are you having a rubbish week, and send best wishes for the move on Saturday and a whole new era!
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Thank you - I am really looking forward to it especially now! This week has made me think of the chinese curse - may you live in interesting times!

So i have spoken to my insurance and it turns out I am not in fact insured for third party accidents. Stupid stupid me :( could have sworn i did have it :( will take everyone's advice and join BHS asap.

I have had to text her saying as much. Have a feeling it is really not going to go down well :(

I have reported the incident to BHS via their website.
 
It completely beggars belief that she works on a yard and still tried to pass you at 20mph!! If i meet a horse on a narrow lane I stop completely and try and pull into the hedge a bit (i do have a big car) and let it pass at its own pace regardless of whether i am in a rush or not. Much better to be 2 minutes late than cause an accident.
 
Stop being so nice to her! She was driving dangerously and it could've been a lot worse.

Personally I would be incandescent that she had the gall to try and pursue you for the damage on her car.Tell her to do one, and if she continues to harass you, you will report her to the police.

Some people just cannot take responsibility for their own actions - she was driving too close and too fast.
 
Write everything down . Take pictures of the area. Measure road width etc . What the weather was like. If need be get a statement from a couple of other people , about the condition of you horse and how he behaves , safety, how 100% he is

The fact you have a police reference number and it seems she does not will help you.

All the above the insurance company will need.
 
Thanks. I took photos of everything that happened and where, will have plenty of people able and willing to say that he is normally good in traffic - his old raceyard is up from us and they frequently pass us in the horsebox - i know they recognise him but they have no direct relationship to me so cannot be called biased.

I am very angry about the whole thing and my text to her this morning mad eit clear that I considered the blame to be entiurely in her court. She replied saying that the metter is now in the hands of her insurance company so I guess I will deal with them when they get in touch.

Serephin I agree - she seems to be entirely in denial about the whole thing. She also hasn't once asked if Deano is ok which coming from a horsey person i think is disgusting.
 
Just something that is bugging me. She said if she had slowed anymore (as you were requesting) she would have been stopped as she was doing 20mph??

Surely there's a lot more slowing down to do from 20mph even before you stop? Indeed if you needed her to stop as the lane ws narrow that would also have been a reasonable request? Since when is being late an excuse to risk anothers life on the roads? Who's fault was it she was late? Her own. Who drove the car at a reckless speed for the situation? She did. Who ignored a reasonable request to try & pass safely? She did. If she works at a yard then she will know that to a horse kicking out is a normal fear response. That the lad was able to get a clear hoof print shows how close she passed. That she frightened a horse enough to make him kick when he has not previously must surely strengthen your defense.

Agree with vet check to make sure. It's like if you have a car accident, & get a problem later, you wont have a case unless you'd sen a doctor within so many days of accident. Get him checked in case anything (like behaviour) shows up subsequently. Get incident number from police, don't be fobbed off. How much interest they show depends on local force. I reported vehicle breaking law (with pictures taken in act to prove it), they still didn't want to know. At least you'll have reported it so it becomes a statistic.
 
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