Two horses killed on road

[partypremier]

Very sad to report 2 horses were killed on the A14 near Ipswich this morning.
Five horses had escaped from their field & wandered down the slip road.
Luckily 3 were rounded up & are back with their owner.
http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/a14_two_...14_and_walking_into_path_of_traffic_1_1506834

It is always a real worry when horses escape, not just for themselves but for drivers as well.
We should all double check our fencing & try to prevent this happening.

 

[AmyMay]

Very sad.

 

[picolenicole]

Thats very sad but how can you not know you have hit someting as big as a horse? I've never driven a HGV, so it's a real question.

 

[AJ & Kiz]

@picolenicole your not alone im wondering the same . R.I.P horses so sad x

 

[MrsMozart]

Rest in peace horses.

 

[MyLuckyStar]

My friends horse was killed a few months ago on the M5 - gypsy stallion had got into the field and tried attacking the geldings. My friends mare chased him out sadly on to the motorway, she was hit by 3 cars and killed outright - the stallion went back to the field. My friends other horses barged the gate down and went down to the stable yard but the dominant gelding out of her herd stood in the field for hours waiting for my friends mare to come home

 

[Jillybobs]

Really is heartbreaking

Fencing is paramount (obviously!) - one place I knew of where a friend had her foal and mare were so rubbish with their fencing that the foal got caught up in it and nearly lost its leg where it had wrapped round so tightly. It was an electric fence that they forgot to turn on and they were meant to check on the foal twice a day and didn't!!! Poor thing had been like that for at least 12 hours

 

[ROG]

Thats very sad but how can you not know you have hit someting as big as a horse? I've never driven a HGV, so it's a real question.

LGVs are so heavy that its easy to have a collision with something lighter and not feel a thing

Its a bit like a car hitting a bird or small animal - you might hear it but not feel it

In a LGV the driver would be unlikely to hear or feel anything

 

[Chestnutmare]

How very sad RIP Horses

 

[NoseyPosey]

LGVs are so heavy that its easy to have a collision with something lighter and not feel a thing

Its a bit like a car hitting a bird or small animal - you might hear it but not feel it

In a LGV the driver would be unlikely to hear or feel anything

Even so, you would think the driver would be aware of something running around either in front of him or at the side of the carriageway before the moment of impact and then look in the mirror. IF they were paying attention that is. I quite often have small animals run out in front of me and I always look into my rear view mirror to see if it manage to escape unhurt or not.

 

[xTrooperx]

Hgvs it not so much they can't feel or see them it's a matter of when breaking you still have 40 ton pushing them forward you just can not break hard, trying to switch lanes is almost impossible very suddenly as can tip lorry, very sad for driver, owners and animals.

 

[ROG]

Even so, you would think the driver would be aware of something running around either in front of him or at the side of the carriageway before the moment of impact and then look in the mirror. IF they were paying attention that is.

LGV drivers can pay a lot of attention but cannot look everywhere at once

Quite often there have been incidents where cars coming from the slip road on the left have ended up across the front of LGVs and the LGV driver wonders why the 'brakes' have come on !!
The cannot see the car across the front of the truck and the impact was so light as not to be felt or possiblt seen in the blind spot

 

[mutley75]

At 1.20 in the morning you will not see a lot in the mirrors! Unfortunately in the dark the only thing you can see is the animals eyes, not much use if they are facing away from you. It is the most terrifying experience in the world when they suddenly look at you at the last minute. I had a very nasty run in with a moose in Norway a few years back, i would say i had 25 meters from when i first saw him!!

 

[Shantara]

A lorry hit a car once and pushed it a long way and didn't even notice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYo3kORaXAo
I'm sure it'd be easy for one to hit a horse and not notice

RIP, poor horses

 

[mutley75]

And to prove the point it was the car driver prosecuted from that clip!

 

[FionaM12]

My friends horse was killed a few months ago on the M5 - gypsy stallion had got into the field and tried attacking the geldings. My friends mare chased him out sadly on to the motorway, she was hit by 3 cars and killed outright - the stallion went back to the field. My friends other horses barged the gate down and went down to the stable yard but the dominant gelding out of her herd stood in the field for hours waiting for my friends mare to come home

That last bit really made me cry.

Mollie used to live right next to the M6, always worried me.

 

[Orangehorse]

How sad for everyone involved. It would be hard for a driver to avoid, as they are not expecting animals to be on a main road at night.

There is also the liability issue, animals escaping from a field and causing an accident could lead to a lot of worry and expense for the owner.

We had a pony escape from a field once, and was hit by a car which was a write off, but luckily the driver was only shaken and not hurt, although he was young so the loss of the car was a big blow for him. We were taken to court for allowing our animals to stray on the road, but there had been 3 ponies in the field, we walked the fences EVERY day and and walked them that afternoon, so we were fined a nominal 10s (that is how long ago it was). I don't remember getting sued for the cost of the car either.
We think the pony escaped by going along a stream and under a bridge, although he must have been exploring to leave his two friends behind.

Now, I expect we would have had to pay for the cost of replacing the car, at the very least.

 

[MadBlackLab]

The horses involved were from a local travellers site on the slip road and the horses were tethered on some grassland next to slip road which is not securely fenced.

A horse was killed only a week ago not far from this accident on a seperate stretch of road.
http://www.dissexpress.co.uk/news/l...sion-between-horse-and-cart-and-van-1-4207903

 

[M_G]

It could be that the trailer has hit the horse in which case the driver would have no idea as to what had happened. One of my drivers hit a small deer (no hope of missing it as it lept out in front of him) and he knew he had hit it with the cab

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

According to the latest BBC reports the horses were believed to be owned by local Travellers....