Ginge Crosby
Well-Known Member
Firstly let me set the scene -
About 8.30pm, had been a hot sunny day; the sun was bright and low in the sky, casting shadows across the road. I rounded a corner onto a straight stretch of road, to (eventually) witness a pair of teenage riders quietly hacking along towards me, having just rounded the bend at the other end of the road. I say eventually, as, like I said, the sun was low and due to the fact that they were wearing no hi viz at all, dressed in dark colours, and both horses were bay, they blended into the shadows. I slowed down significantly, to receive not even a nod of the head or smile. Fine, I thought, maybe its an off day for them.
Then, another vehicle rounded the corner behind them, doing an approximate 40mph (on the national speed limit road we were on), didn't see the horses until the last second and had to brake hard and move onto my side of the road to avoid hitting the rear horse. At which point, the two young riders turned in their saddles to hurl some pretty blue abuse at the clearly shaken driver of the other car.
Now, I may be completely disillusioned here, but surely the two girls were putting themselves at risk by riding in these conditions without making themselves visible to other road users?? I wouldn't get in my car and go for a drive at night without my headlights on. I'm no member of the health and safety police, and I'm not saying they have to go out decked like a Christmas tree, but even a minimal tabard or set of leg wraps would have made them more visible and less likely to get hit by a car. In this situation, I felt that the other car was driving at a reasonable speed considering the light conditions, and it was very unfortunate that the horses were in the shadows when he rounded the corner. But I don't think he had a hope of spotting them, and was very lucky to avoid hitting them. Fair enough, the girls may have been under the impression that 'it's such a lovely sunny evening, we must be easy enough to see'. But unfortunately it doesn't work like that.
My friend recently got hit by a car out hacking on a different road; again, she was not wearing hi viz and was on her own. Its fair to say her mother gave her a right b*llocking once the shock had sunk in. Thankfully the horse only had minor injuries, but the driver did not stop and there were no witnesses. It was very shocking to all of us at the yard, and made us all alot more careful when out on the roads and lanes.
Don't give drivers the excuse of 'I didn't see you'. MAKE yourself visible, not just for the sake of your horse, but the injuries that could be caused to another road users simply because 'it's not cool to wear hi-viz'. Put it on and forget about it; its much cooler to wear it and avoid an accident, than to lose your horse, yours or someone else's life.
About 8.30pm, had been a hot sunny day; the sun was bright and low in the sky, casting shadows across the road. I rounded a corner onto a straight stretch of road, to (eventually) witness a pair of teenage riders quietly hacking along towards me, having just rounded the bend at the other end of the road. I say eventually, as, like I said, the sun was low and due to the fact that they were wearing no hi viz at all, dressed in dark colours, and both horses were bay, they blended into the shadows. I slowed down significantly, to receive not even a nod of the head or smile. Fine, I thought, maybe its an off day for them.
Then, another vehicle rounded the corner behind them, doing an approximate 40mph (on the national speed limit road we were on), didn't see the horses until the last second and had to brake hard and move onto my side of the road to avoid hitting the rear horse. At which point, the two young riders turned in their saddles to hurl some pretty blue abuse at the clearly shaken driver of the other car.
Now, I may be completely disillusioned here, but surely the two girls were putting themselves at risk by riding in these conditions without making themselves visible to other road users?? I wouldn't get in my car and go for a drive at night without my headlights on. I'm no member of the health and safety police, and I'm not saying they have to go out decked like a Christmas tree, but even a minimal tabard or set of leg wraps would have made them more visible and less likely to get hit by a car. In this situation, I felt that the other car was driving at a reasonable speed considering the light conditions, and it was very unfortunate that the horses were in the shadows when he rounded the corner. But I don't think he had a hope of spotting them, and was very lucky to avoid hitting them. Fair enough, the girls may have been under the impression that 'it's such a lovely sunny evening, we must be easy enough to see'. But unfortunately it doesn't work like that.
My friend recently got hit by a car out hacking on a different road; again, she was not wearing hi viz and was on her own. Its fair to say her mother gave her a right b*llocking once the shock had sunk in. Thankfully the horse only had minor injuries, but the driver did not stop and there were no witnesses. It was very shocking to all of us at the yard, and made us all alot more careful when out on the roads and lanes.
Don't give drivers the excuse of 'I didn't see you'. MAKE yourself visible, not just for the sake of your horse, but the injuries that could be caused to another road users simply because 'it's not cool to wear hi-viz'. Put it on and forget about it; its much cooler to wear it and avoid an accident, than to lose your horse, yours or someone else's life.
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