When will riders take responsibility...

As for a horse who can't cope with hi-viz, it's the rider's responsibility to desensitize the poor thing for Its Own Safety as well as the rider's (and the motorists'!), isn't it? I had the wussiest most panicky youngster on the planet but guess what, she can now be ridden by a rider in a dayglo yellow jacket.
I utterly despair of these cretins, and I feel so sorry for their poor vulnerable horses, and the drivers who might smash into them when it's really not 100% their fault.
 
Starbucks said:
Don't know why people can't mind their own business really.
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To some extent, I know what you mean. There is a lady round here that texts people to tell them that she couldn't see their "off hind lower pastern in the dark" etc (yes I'm exagerating a bit!), however I would never be offended if people told me that they couldn't see me, I'd be thankful. I think it depends on how you work it. I say something like, "hope you don't mind me saying, but I'd want to know if it was me...."
 
Walrus said:
Because when they get hit by a car it wont just be their business - it'll be the horse rider, the horse, the driver, the car passangers, the people who were driving on the other side of the road.......wont it?
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Not forgetting the emergency services and insurers who will no doubt up the rates for other responsible riders.
 
Why is it always the drivers fault? its not too bad up here but back home there used to be some right idiots who would have a horse dancing about in the middle of the road FINALLY control it and then give you a really nasty look as if it was your fault.

there is a lady up the road who isnt very ''car aware'' wether she drives or not is probably a factor, but she really doesnt think about her safety when she is riding. there is a bad bend on a hill and its completely blind, and whenever we ave met her (us in a big white truck) she is riding in the middle of the road, so if a car did come round a bit fast, there is no chance for it to go anywhere to avoid her.
 
newtothis said:
there is a lady up the road who isnt very ''car aware'' wether she drives or not is probably a factor, but she really doesnt think about her safety when she is riding. there is a bad bend on a hill and its completely blind, and whenever we ave met her (us in a big white truck) she is riding in the middle of the road, so if a car did come round a bit fast, there is no chance for it to go anywhere to avoid her.
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Not an excuse, but on a very tight corner on a narrow road the middle can be the safer place to be as you can give any approaching traffic extra time to see you. Def somewhere best avoided, but at my old yard the only way to get to any hacking was along a v quiet but v narrow road with high hedges. There was one tight corner there so we positioned ourselves on the 'wrong' side of the road so that both us and any approaching traffic could see each other as early as possible. This was usually done at a sharp trot so we could be away from the dangerous part of the road asap.
 
Wow! Didn't expect this response! lol!

It just got me as had she have had a reflective hat cover as a minimum, I would have seen her above and between all the foliage... the fact that the pair of them were wearing dark green and brown clothing in a wooded area made them completely camoflaged...

The pair of them were old enough to know better - certainly not kids... most likely mothers of kids in fact!
 
Rollin said:
Not forgetting the emergency services and insurers who will no doubt up the rates for other responsible riders.
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btw, a fatal RTA costs the Council about £1m. An ex-boyf of mine worked in this area.
If someone's oblivious, or invisible, I see no problem in telling them... nicely if possible, rudely if the first option doesn't get through.
I think riders forget that, even though we can hear a car coming, the driver can't hear us, s/he's probably in a cosy cocoon with windows up, heater on, radio playing etc, and has NO IDEA we're even on the road until s/he sees us.
That extra few seconds that hi-viz gives really can be the difference between life or death.
I wish H&H would do a big campaign about this.
 
glosgirl said:
Not an excuse, but on a very tight corner on a narrow road the middle can be the safer place to be as you can give any approaching traffic extra time to see you. Def somewhere best avoided, but at my old yard the only way to get to any hacking was along a v quiet but v narrow road with high hedges. There was one tight corner there so we positioned ourselves on the 'wrong' side of the road so that both us and any approaching traffic could see each other as early as possible. This was usually done at a sharp trot so we could be away from the dangerous part of the road asap.
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yes that i could understand, its the same when you are in the car.

but where she rides isnt like that, it is wide enough for a hilux and a cattle truck to pass (if not slighty tight) its her general position on the road, middle-ish, and on this corner its really dodgy. she also never feels the need to go a bit quicker, she just weaves her way along in her own little world. its sharp and banked on both sides, but if she stuck to her side of the road she wouldnt cause such a problem.

shes asked us for stabling a couple of times and she doesnt really seem to be all that bothered about anything particularly.
 
Totally agree!!! I dont leave the yard without a Hi-Viz tabbard at least.

I do take care on the roads but sometimes you can just miss things I totally missed a lady on a horse the other day on a lane, broad day light but she just blended in, luckily I was going really quite slow (its a dodgy lane). Its so cheap and takes a second but could save you and your horse's life or at least a hell of a lot of trauma!
 
This really annoys me too. And for those who think hi vis is uncool, why not get it personalised?? Like i did :D :D :D :D

39642_452931707742_662877742_6246018_3480278_n.jpg


Pretty cool, i think so ;)
 
A "violent" pink hat, now thats something I fancy :rolleyes: where do you get one ? the violence shop ! :D

Well done for telling them, but I fear your wasting your breath, Ar******s will be Ar******s, as others say, it's such a shame the horse get hit first :mad::mad:
 
i met a group of riders a few weeks agao, who i happen to know. I was driving and was just being blinded by the sun, I had just caught a glimpse of what I thought was 4 legs, nothing else. I happened be going very slowly, luckily! As they passed me, I wound my window down, initially to say hello and to point out that I could not see them. Their reaction they just laughed and rode off. I would never dream of riding off the yard without a hi-viz vest on.
 
I'm probably going to get shot down for saying this! But I only wear hi-viz if its foggy! I try to ride in bright clothes and have a big bright ginger horse. Never had any complaints from any one...
 
This weekend is the 2nd anniversary of the deaths of two school children who were knocked down in our village and killed by a local driver. They were wearing dark school blazers and were walking along the roadside and were killed about 2 yards from the driveway of the house they were going to.

Their lives are over. The parents of one child are now alcoholics. The (single) mother of the other child looks like a ghost. The driver, who was found to be BLAMELESS is in complete bits, has not returned to work, and her own children are suffering.

The local school children ran a campaign to design new school blazers which incorporated reflective material in the binding. Only two schools (out of perhaps a dozen) had these blazers made because the hi-viz added £5 on to the price of each blazer :confused::confused:

I have today put 14 students through their BHS riding and road safety test. At the start of the training, only a couple of them possessed hi-viz. Now they all do, and all agree that they will wear it whatever the weather, whenever they are out on the road, riding or leading, and also when they are riding off-road. Result.
 
Tragic :(

I recently narrowly avoided a runner purely because my head lights caught the reflective piping on his trainers.

The fool was running on a narrow unlit country lane that doesn't have pavement in places. In places it is only just wide enough for two cars to pass, and yet full size lorries use it to deliver to the pubs.
 
Katt said:
Tragic :(

I recently narrowly avoided a runner purely because my head lights caught the reflective piping on his trainers.

The fool was running on a narrow unlit country lane that doesn't have pavement in places. In places it is only just wide enough for two cars to pass, and yet full size lorries use it to deliver to the pubs.
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a couple of nights ago i literally stopped and picked a couple up, we had such thick fog that i was driving at 20 on a 60, and if i hadnt have caught the reflection of their unlit torch i wouldnt have seen them. they were wearing all black with their faces covered by their scarves.

i pulled over and literally ordered them to get in and that id drop them off in the village, and on the way definitely left a flea in their ear about how invisible they really were.
 
Bit of bug bear of mine this.

It is common sense to wear high viz whenver you ride out - not just a night or bad weather conditions.

Highly irresponsible to go out without it in my opinion.

It costs next to nothing to buy a basic high viz tabbard so the money is not excuse. And as for "my horse doesn't like it", I've never heard such tosh.

Just another unfortunate sign of the times when people don't think about anyone but themselves. If you get hit by a driver think of the damage you do to their lives.

I can just about understand children not thinking it's cool but in that instance I would expect their parents to lay the law down - no high viz no horse!

Wearing high viz isn't painful, restrictive or inconvenient so no excuse not to.

Thank you - I shall dismount from my soapbox now ;)
 
I took Lacey out to nanny a younger horse the other week and the rider told me her horse "didn't like hi viz", well after spending an hour out with me and Lacey who are covered head to toe in it I know see the rider wearing a tabard as she's realised he's not actually scared it was just her excuse.

I would never been seen dead on the roads without it!
 
newtothis said:
Why is it always the drivers fault? its not too bad up here but back home there used to be some right idiots who would have a horse dancing about in the middle of the road FINALLY control it and then give you a really nasty look as if it was your fault.

.
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If you read the title, it say's when will RIDERS take responsibility, and i don't belive i've read one post blaming a driver.
 
curragh said:
I'm probably going to get shot down for saying this! But I only wear hi-viz if its foggy! I try to ride in bright clothes and have a big bright ginger horse. Never had any complaints from any one...
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i rode out in the middle of a very sunny day in the late summer on a very wide open road, nothing coming the other way, on a 17hh BRIGHT chestnut horse while wearing a luminous green jumper (no style me!) and i still got hit by a car. Dont think it would have mattered how much hi-vis i or the horse could have worn, some drivers just shouldnt be on the road!:mad:
 
kerilli said:
btw, a fatal RTA costs the Council about £1m. An ex-boyf of mine worked in this area.
If someone's oblivious, or invisible, I see no problem in telling them... nicely if possible, rudely if the first option doesn't get through.
I think riders forget that, even though we can hear a car coming, the driver can't hear us, s/he's probably in a cosy cocoon with windows up, heater on, radio playing etc, and has NO IDEA we're even on the road until s/he sees us.
That extra few seconds that hi-viz gives really can be the difference between life or death.
I wish H&H would do a big campaign about this.
Click to expand...

I spent 5 happy years as an A&E manager. I loved my job, but have sad memories of lives ruined by head injuries.
 
I wish all riders would thank drivers who slow down for them too - I've slowed down to pass horses and have received a frosty look on more occasions than I have a smile and a "thank you" grr.....
 
tinkandlily said:
If you read the title, it say's when will RIDERS take responsibility, and i don't belive i've read one post blaming a driver.
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tinkandlily if you READ my earlier post, i agreed. i was talking about certain riders in my post...


yes bertthefrog, i always always thanked people who slowed for me, and it can be so irritating when youve been following two horses, being ridden aside eachother, for the last mile, and when they do decide they will go single file so you can safely overtake, you either get totally blanked or glared at.
 
newtothis said:
tinkandlily if you READ my earlier post, i agreed. i was talking about certain riders in my post...


yes bertthefrog, i always always thanked people who slowed for me, and it can be so irritating when youve been following two horses, being ridden aside eachother, for the last mile, and when they do decide they will go single file so you can safely overtake, you either get totally blanked or glared at.
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Well in that case i'm sorry:o:o
 
bertthefrog said:
I wish all riders would thank drivers who slow down for them too - I've slowed down to pass horses and have received a frosty look on more occasions than I have a smile and a "thank you" grr.....
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This too. (Just to note I always thank drivers and have my Road Safety certificate too). I think drivers are inconsiderate to riders, I think it should become mandatory in driving tests (and re tests) to have questions/situations involving horses/walkers on the road or even in the theory test as part of hazard perception as most people think horses are machines and do nothing wrong.

Also we pulled up to a group of kids twice now (both times ignored) they were only between 10-16 years old about 6 of them first time and we told them that if they didn't wish to be a blood pool in the road to put some hi viz on as they were very stupid to think that they could be seen. The second time we saw just two of them, one had no hi viz on AND was riding UP a hill with a blind top WITH NO HANDS ON THE REINS and was swinging her arms around. If a car had flown by/something that spooked the horse she wouldn't have had any control. You don't drive a car without any hands on the wheel (can be prosecuted) so why do it on a horse who can think for itself!
 
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