Hacking on the roads

[Amye]

***Rant Alert***

Why is it that drivers just cannot understand what 'Pass wide and slow' means?!? I have hacked out on my boy for the past 2 afternoons and have had to do some road work as part of the ride - the amount of drivers that did not slow down for us or pass wide enough or were just down right dangerous is unbelievable!

Last night - hacked up a very steep hill to get to the bridle path. At the top of the hill the road dips again slightly and becomes very narrow (two cars can't pass there), a van driver comes flying over the top of the hill, we were far enough away from the top of the hill that he would have been able to see us in plenty of time but he did not even touch his breaks!! He must have passed around a foot from my stirrup and I can't even think about how close he was to the back end of my horse because it made me feel horrible all over!! I have a big grey and we were both in hi viz there is no way he didn't see us

Luckily the horses aren't bothered by inconsiderate drivers but if something in a hedge had rustled and caused one of them to spook, it doesn't even bear thinking about! If he had hit us it would have been serious injuries for horse and rider - if not fatal he was going so fast.

Also the day before I asked a BMW driver to slow down as he was coming down the hill too fast - he slammed on the breaks, shouted 'I was slowing down you ****' and then screeched off. I also had tons of drivers that, because I was on a straight stretch of road and they could see there was nothing coming the other way, didn't bother slowing down and just went round us.

Why is it that people just cannot slow down for 10 seconds to ensure everyone is safe?? I always wear tons of hi viz and thank every considerate driver who passes us.


Cookies if you got this far!!

Shout out to all the drivers that did slow down though - and one very nice motorcyclist who crawled by and gave us a nice wave!

 

[0310Star]

I must admit I have chosen to no longer ride on the roads. Every time I went out something happened like you've described, and I just thought actually its not even worth it! I have off road hacking at my yard so I don't have to go on the road luckily, but I do miss riding out around the lanes as I used to ride on the roads almost every day so it is a shame

 

[Goldenstar]

Just take a marker pen in your pocket .
Decide in advance who remembers the first and second half of the number and and ASAP after the incident write it on your hand .
On return call the police I did this once for a bus driver who went onto a very narrow bridge we were already half way across and nearly had a rider over the parapet .

 

[Amye]

Just take a marker pen in your pocket .
Decide in advance who remembers the first and second half of the number and and ASAP after the incident write it on your hand .
On return call the police I did this once for a bus driver who went onto a very narrow bridge we were already half way across and nearly had a rider over the parapet .

I do actually have a go pro that i normally wear but it had run out of battery!! Good idea as a backup plan though

 

[Amye]

I must admit I have chosen to no longer ride on the roads. Every time I went out something happened like you've described, and I just thought actually its not even worth it! I have off road hacking at my yard so I don't have to go on the road luckily, but I do miss riding out around the lanes as I used to ride on the roads almost every day so it is a shame

I know it is a shame! I have to ride on the roads if I want to go for more of a hack then just round the farm fields - somedays it's really quiet, barely see anyone and the people I do see are fine but this week has just been a nightmare

 

[0310Star]

I know it is a shame! I have to ride on the roads if I want to go for more of a hack then just round the farm fields - somedays it's really quiet, barely see anyone and the people I do see are fine but this week has just been a nightmare

The drivers around my area are majority the kind of people you have described and its so frightening to think! I am starting to find it quite boring riding off road in one place all the time but I don't have transport to go elsewhere. That's one thing that's on my list eventually to get transport so I can go to the forest/beach etc without having to worry!

 

[milliepops]

I have the opposite problem.Livery in a very horsey area so most drivers are well used to seeing us on the road and there are a lot of people that ride & lead like me. But drivers are actually over cautious. My horses, like all the others I've met around me, will park well into the hedge to allow a car past, and are completely traffic proof.. but limited of patience. I'm forever waving people on! Nice problem to have though

 

[ihatework]

I do wonder if it's very area specific - I have to say the vast majority of traffic around me (and where I was before) is pretty considerate. Get the odd idiot, but it's pretty rare.

 

[Amye]

I haven't had that many problems in the past with drivers, there was always one who would drive too fast or get too close but the majority were good. Over this week though it seems to have flipped and the majority have been idiots! (hence the need to rant!) That van was a close call though and really did scare me - never been quite that close before. I think it's better on a weekend as there are plenty of cyclists and pedestrians to slow the traffic too!

milliepops - that is a better problem to have but I understand the frustration when someone is crawling past you and not going much fast then your horse!!

 

[Damnation]

Its luck of the draw on the day I think.

Around me is a pretty mixed bag. The farm machinery, motorbikes, transit van drivers and HGV's are all very considerate, most cyclists yell in warning so that your horse doesn't jump when they whizz past, the worst ones are normal cars, specifically hatchbacks. There seems to be an influx of boy racers around here who just don't give a damn...

I have told the girl who rides my mare out that I don't want her to hack alone or without an adult for this reason. Thankfully new yard is not near any main roads and is on the edge of a village so usually quite peaceful.

 

[milliepops]

milliepops - that is a better problem to have but I understand the frustration when someone is crawling past you and not going much fast then your horse!!

It's fine until the horses decide that it's absolutely time to get moving again and start wriggling which then sends a cautious driver into panic mode, :lol: I know they are trying to do the right thing so it is appreciated and everyone gets a nice wave. But secretly I wish they'd get a move on.

 

[jimbojones]

I now always have my helmet cam on when I hack on roads and if a car does pass to quickly I'll say the registration a few time out loud so it's on the camera.

I have to say though I've never done anything about any of the incidents through but I like to know that I could report it and provide evidence if need be.

 

[HufflyPuffly]

It's fine until the horses decide that it's absolutely time to get moving again and start wriggling which then sends a cautious driver into panic mode, :lol: I know they are trying to do the right thing so it is appreciated and everyone gets a nice wave. But secretly I wish they'd get a move on.

We have this round us too , all mine (bar baby horse who's not quite in the unflinching zone yet) are brilliant in traffic. Doodle however (being a naughty old lady) has no patience at all, , we did have one moment where after she had waited for the first car decided she would quite like to go despite the oncoming van, I said no, she put her back hoof in a slight dip had a completely ridiculous freak out on the spot, as she is a sweetheart really and wasn't going anywhere I waved the van man past, he stayed where he was and turned his engine off and looked frankly horrified at the sight of us . I was very apologetic and said it was fine to pass but he was having none of it , she was only jiggling about on the spot and I even had one hand off the reins to try and wave him past, it still makes me giggle as she is the most fab horse to hack but yet still stopped traffic :lol:.

Though I much prefer the cautious ones to the reckless ones and the those who actively try and spook the horses, we seem to have a few boy racers round us who think its marvellous to beep at us as they pass, you'd think as the horses barely blink they'd give up but as they clearly only have one brain cell between them maybe that's a step to far .

 

[Overread]

I do wonder if it's very area specific - I have to say the vast majority of traffic around me (and where I was before) is pretty considerate. Get the odd idiot, but it's pretty rare.

I think its road and area specific. Certain roads, esp those people travel down regularly, become an expected condition for those people. They expect to see certain things appear on that road and to have certain conditions and thus drive that road partly on auto-pilot.

Myself I had this the other day as I came over a small rise onto a stretch of road that's generally reasonably fast to drive and I saw going over another rise in the distance what I thought was pair of cyclists. I'm used to seeing them from time to time on this road and as it was further off I only glanced before focusing on the road in front of me.
So it was quite a surprise when two cyclists transformed into a horse and cart.

One would never think you could mistake the one for the other; but if one only glances at the distant view our brain sometimes sees what it expects to see more than what is actually there; and since horses are typically not on this road and cyclists are that's what I saw.


I'd also say its linked to the road itself and the nature of the equine object incoming and the speed. A horse and cart trotting along at fast pace; or even a rider atop a horse going at a good speed is likely to encourage people to move around them quicker than those going at a slower plodding pace (one would assume a horse going faster is more confident - as is the rider).*

*of course I'm excluding full blown panic charging speed which is quite another matter.



I have to say I'm also one of those who if the horse starts jumping or head tossing or in general doing anything but standing/moving steadily I tend to assume its the car resulting in instant further slowdown even to the point of stopping or hanging back further and further whilst following. Heck I'm the same if I'm photographing and if the horse balks at a jump (esp if the jump closest to me and facing me).

 

[The Snowman]

Sorry to hear about this incident. Have you reported incident to the police at all? Would be worth doing even if you have any registration number, at least the police would be aware of it.

The BHS have an incident reporting website, if you report under 'Road Accidents' this category can be used for near misses, incidents etc. The incidents are added to their national statistics and help with their road safety campaign and getting awareness spread further.

 

[Amye]

I think its road and area specific. Certain roads, esp those people travel down regularly, become an expected condition for those people. They expect to see certain things appear on that road and to have certain conditions and thus drive that road partly on auto-pilot.
.

I do think it is a bit of this! However the roads are normal roads for horses at my yard to hack on as they go into the Harewood estate so it is not uncommon to find horses along them (and there are signs but I know most don't take notice of these).

Sorry to hear about this incident. Have you reported incident to the police at all? Would be worth doing even if you have any registration number, at least the police would be aware of it.

The BHS have an incident reporting website, if you report under 'Road Accidents' this category can be used for near misses, incidents etc. The incidents are added to their national statistics and help with their road safety campaign and getting awareness spread further.

I hadn't actually thought of that thankyou i will definitely report it on the BHS website I didn't think about the police as I didn't get a reg number. I was annoyed afterwards that I hadn't got it but it all happened so quickly I was just concerned about my horses safety

I normally have my go pro with me but it had run out of battery and having a busy week with work and all I have forgotten to charge it! Now obviously wish i had haha.

 

[StarcatcherWilliam]

I think the problem is that most people are totally unaware of the fact that a horse is a living thing and not a machine! It doesn't occur to them that a horse could spook or trip into the path of a vehicle. Also some people seem to actively dislike horses / horse owners and seem to enjoy scaring the hell out of them. I have a neighbour (a dairy farmer) who used to drive at me and my mare as if we weren't on the road. She was crap with traffic anyway so it was always a terrifying situation when he did this. However, if he ever saw me out running, he'd slow right down and give me a totally unnecessary wide berth! T***!! I resorted to riding in the middle of the road on single track roads and forcing drivers to stop for us.

 

[tiga71]

Most are pretty good round our way and i have only had a couple of idiots.

One boy racer was coming towards me too fast and I called to slow down. He braked hard, backed up to me and started shouting. I moved my horse to the grass verge and the idiot started burning out his tyres and not moving. My horse is bombproof and has a sense of humour. He got comfy and did a wee. Then we trotted on. He screeched off and left half his tyres on the road. Muppet.

 

[Overread]

Idle pondering but I wonder how much of this is partly the result of a lack of revised training for drivers. You can pass your driving test before you're 20 and then don't have any revised test till you're into retirement. Most jobs would have you retrained multiple times over that period were you working in industry - but we don't retrain drivers (though the DVLA does like to send out renewal notices for driving licences even if no details are changing....)

So bad habits creep in; desire to rush and go fast creeps in (I also think a lot of people get pushed by the car behind - put a car behind them and they drive faster even if the car behind isn't pushing at their bumper)

 

[Antw23uk]

I have to ride two awful bends just to get to some decent hacking ... well any hacking for that matter! I hate it. If i can i 'pull out' when i see a car at the bottom of the road and then they are stuck behind me until im round the bend ... i kind of use them as a buffer which im sure they dont appreciate!

My gelding decided to have a melt down at a parked mini the other day (I know they are horrendous cars but seriously it was a little OTT) and the cars coming round the corner seeing us were horrified as we tried to go through a hedge to get round said parked car! Now when i feel him getting silly ... its his thing at the moment, parked cars!! ... i just hold my reins in one hand and rest my whip very gently on his outside flank ... i let him choose who is scariest, me or the car .. he always chooses me, lol

I did get a bit of verbal the other day from some idiot who hung behind me until the most blind point of the corner and then decided to splutter past me with no clutch control .. when i called them an F'ing idiot the husband got all verbal at which point i told him to jog on. Had i been with someone who could hold my horse i would have got off and given him a good hiding!

I did want to share a 'slow down' campaign on the local village FB page but i think it will just escalate and turn against me!

 

[Amye]

Overread - i think part of it is that you don't even get any training anyway with dealing with horses when learning to drive! I learnt to drive in a residential area a few years ago so didn't come across any horse and riders. I don't remember ever being told how to act around a horse and rider. It's in the highway code so could crop up on your theory test but that's just one question you will forget. Maybe my instructor did mention in once upon a time but they didn't talk at length and about the consequences or anything.

I did want to share a 'slow down' campaign on the local village FB page but i think it will just escalate and turn against me!

That's really sad to hear being asked to slow down for horses for everyones safety shouldn't be met with anger and we shouldn't have to think that if we share something like that people will take it 'the wrong way'.

 

[Antw23uk]

Overread - i think part of it is that you don't even get any training anyway with dealing with horses when learning to drive! I learnt to drive in a residential area a few years ago so didn't come across any horse and riders. I don't remember ever being told how to act around a horse and rider. It's in the highway code so could crop up on your theory test but that's just one question you will forget. Maybe my instructor did mention in once upon a time but they didn't talk at length and about the consequences or anything.



That's really sad to hear being asked to slow down for horses for everyones safety shouldn't be met with anger and we shouldn't have to think that if we share something like that people will take it 'the wrong way'.

Well i took the plunge and posted an awareness post on the local village FB page ... we shall see whats said!

 

[EQUIDAE]

I asked a BMW driver to slow down

As I say on every thread - there is no hand signal in the highway code to ask someone to slow down. The signal that riders often use actually means 'I am going to slow down/stop' and it also states it handle signals should not be used to indicate anything else. It is better to use a stop sign with hand out - that way when they have slowed enough you can then signal them past.

I also never use a hand up sign to say thankyou as I think this can be confused with a stop signal - I give a thumbs up as it's much clearer meaning (in the UK )

I have suggested to the pass wide and slow group that they have this old signaling reintroduced which would allow the up-down one to be used for 'please slow down'. The government has said that a horse rider does not actually have the legal right to ask a motorist to slow down - it is up to the motorist to judge the speed. This is why they are appealing for a legal requirement to slow.

 

[claireandnadia]

My girl is not great on the roads. She can cope with the odd car but anything bigger than that and shes a bit of a wreck and unfortunately I have no choice but to hack on the roads at my yard so we just don't. Last time I rode out was NYD and saw about 5 cars, it was bliss. I tend to box up or ride round the yard.

 

[Birker2020]

***Rant Alert***

Why is it that drivers just cannot understand what 'Pass wide and slow' means?!? I have hacked out on my boy for the past 2 afternoons and have had to do some road work as part of the ride - the amount of drivers that did not slow down for us or pass wide enough or were just down right dangerous is unbelievable!

Last night - hacked up a very steep hill to get to the bridle path. At the top of the hill the road dips again slightly and becomes very narrow (two cars can't pass there), a van driver comes flying over the top of the hill, we were far enough away from the top of the hill that he would have been able to see us in plenty of time but he did not even touch his breaks!! He must have passed around a foot from my stirrup and I can't even think about how close he was to the back end of my horse because it made me feel horrible all over!! I have a big grey and we were both in hi viz there is no way he didn't see us

Luckily the horses aren't bothered by inconsiderate drivers but if something in a hedge had rustled and caused one of them to spook, it doesn't even bear thinking about! If he had hit us it would have been serious injuries for horse and rider - if not fatal he was going so fast.

Also the day before I asked a BMW driver to slow down as he was coming down the hill too fast - he slammed on the breaks, shouted 'I was slowing down you ****' and then screeched off. I also had tons of drivers that, because I was on a straight stretch of road and they could see there was nothing coming the other way, didn't bother slowing down and just went round us.

Why is it that people just cannot slow down for 10 seconds to ensure everyone is safe?? I always wear tons of hi viz and thank every considerate driver who passes us.


Cookies if you got this far!!


Shout out to all the drivers that did slow down though - and one very nice motorcyclist who crawled by and gave us a nice wave!

I know how you feel having had a couple of near misses myself over the years.

I have got to say though, and it shames me to say this, but quite often its six of one and half a dozen of the other. I have often passed by horse riders who have neither nodded or waved to thank drivers who have taken the trouble to slow down. Sometimes they are on their phone, or riding two or three abreast around tight country lanes, and very often will have no high viz on. There is one d*ck by us that doesn't wear a hat and quite often doesn't have his feet in his stirrups either (I must admit I do give my ankles a rest but only when its really quiet).

Its simple really, stay alert, take your mobile with you, wear hi viz yourself and your horse and always, always thank other road users for slowing down.

One of the new facebook 'slow down for horses campaign' was sent me the other day and I had to laugh. There's a photo of a bright yellow lorry coming towards a horse and rider partially obscured by overhanging tree and no hi viz on either.

I did leave a comment saying "shame the lorry is brighter than the rider".

 

[The Snowman]

I hadn't actually thought of that thankyou i will definitely report it on the BHS website I didn't think about the police as I didn't get a reg number. I was annoyed afterwards that I hadn't got it but it all happened so quickly I was just concerned about my horses safety

I normally have my go pro with me but it had run out of battery and having a busy week with work and all I have forgotten to charge it! Now obviously wish i had haha.

Excellent! I would definitely report it to the police still, make sure you ask for a incident report number too so that you know it is recorded. This incident could have ended a lot worse than it did and that's what I think you have to think about. It wasn't too bad this time, but could have been a lot worse! At least it shows there is a problem in that local area. Always the way with cameras isn't it! When you have them nothing happens, when you don't, something does!!

 

[Overread]

I find a nod or such polite but I don't expect it unless the rider is going slow and coming toward me and the horse is clearly relaxed and the situation is calm; otherwise rather like cyclists if they don't nod I assume its because they are focused on what they are doing.



As an aside and a question I've often wondered - which is worse;
1) Making a clutch change whilst going past a horse and rider (say from first to second);
or
2) Going past and maintaining speed but making more noise from the engine.

Whilst one appreciates that each horse is different I wonder which is the more likely to scare - a car making a constant strong noise or one that can suddenly pause for a second and then speed up a little.

 

[milliepops]

As an aside and a question I've often wondered - which is worse;
1) Making a clutch change whilst going past a horse and rider (say from first to second);
or
2) Going past and maintaining speed but making more noise from the engine.

Whilst one appreciates that each horse is different I wonder which is the more likely to scare - a car making a constant strong noise or one that can suddenly pause for a second and then speed up a little.

Speaking purely from my own point of view, neither of those would matter. My horses are pretty used to lots of noise from tractors, motorbikes etc.
What startles my horses is totally unexpected things like running over cans or bottles etc on the side of the road (they bang, or pop), or cars splashing in a puddle in an otherwise dry road. Some drivers swerve so far into the hedge when passing, they create additional spooks in doing so

 

[smja]

Excellent! I would definitely report it to the police still, make sure you ask for a incident report number too so that you know it is recorded. This incident could have ended a lot worse than it did and that's what I think you have to think about. It wasn't too bad this time, but could have been a lot worse! At least it shows there is a problem in that local area. Always the way with cameras isn't it! When you have them nothing happens, when you don't, something does!!

Can you report it to the police without a reg number? Similar thing happened to me a few weeks ago, no chance of a reg!

Sis and I had a lovely hack last night, aside from a few idiots most people round us are lovely, and we've trained the regulars so much that they've ended up thanking us as they pass before we can thank them

(I always use the raised hand to thank people unless I need two hands on the reins, I think drivers can see it more clearly. If they have windows open/roof down, we call out a verbal thank you as well)

 

[The Snowman]

Can you report it to the police without a reg number? Similar thing happened to me a few weeks ago, no chance of a reg!

Sis and I had a lovely hack last night, aside from a few idiots most people round us are lovely, and we've trained the regulars so much that they've ended up thanking us as they pass before we can thank them

(I always use the raised hand to thank people unless I need two hands on the reins, I think drivers can see it more clearly. If they have windows open/roof down, we call out a verbal thank you as well)

Yes you can absolutely report it without a reg number, but of course it will limit what the police can do, however it should always be reported and you should receive an incident report number.

So nice when you get thanked by others!!