Which roads are more dangerous to ride on?

[Miss_Millie]

I've been pondering this.

In the past I always thought that quiet, single country roads were safest to ride on. But they are often also bordered by high hedges with blind corners. Despite rarely seeing traffic on these kinds of lanes, when I have, the vehicles have always been going way too fast. I had one near miss where my life genuinely flashed before my eyes and the car was only inches from going into my horse when it finally stopped.

Then there are the more open, wider, double lane roads. Often national speed limit, but also much better visibility far ahead and plenty of room to go around/overtake.

Ideally we'd all stay off of the roads altogether, but that seems to be getting harder by the day as bridleways disappear. What sort of road do you think is 'safest', if there is such a thing?

 

[sassandbells]

Great question. Having been on both a country lane and a 50mph main road, I think my “safest” roads to ride on are the ones through the towns / villages near me. People are already driving slower as they expect people / hazards to be around as it’s more populated, so then when they come across a horse it’s less of a “surprise”.

 

[onemoretime]

I've been pondering this.

In the past I always thought that quiet, single country roads were safest to ride on. But they are often also bordered by high hedges with blind corners. Despite rarely seeing traffic on these kinds of lanes, when I have, the vehicles have always been going way too fast. I had one near miss where my life genuinely flashed before my eyes and the car was only inches from going into my horse when it finally stopped.

Then there are the more open, wider, double lane roads. Often national speed limit, but also much better visibility far ahead and plenty of room to go around/overtake.

Ideally we'd all stay off of the roads altogether, but that seems to be getting harder by the day as bridleways disappear. What sort of road do you think is 'safest', if there is such a thing?

All of them!

 

[Miss_Millie]

Great question. Having been on both a country lane and a 50mph main road, I think my “safest” roads to ride on are the ones through the towns / villages near me. People are already driving slower as they expect people / hazards to be around as it’s more populated, so then when they come across a horse it’s less of a “surprise”.

That's a really good point - I think people get complacent on country lanes off the beaten track because they don't expect to see any pedestrians. I generally feel safest riding through the local village too, people usually aren't going faster than 20mph.

 

[Caol Ila]

At my previous yard, you could either ride through a housing estate, or ride on the narrow country roads with high hedges and enough straights for people to go really fast. I rode in the housing estate 99% of the time. It had wide pavements, and people drove cautiously because they expected kids, dogs, cats, etc. to pop out in front of them. The roads, once you left the estate, were terrifying.

 

[scruffyponies]

Busy villages with loads of on-street parking. Drivers find it practically impossible to exceed 20mph, and must stop every few yards and consider who has priority. This makes it very easy for a bolshy horse rider to control the road by riding defensively when needed.

 

[Peglo]

Our B roads are definitely safer than the main roads. We don’t have tall hedges or trees along the roads where we are and it’s pretty flat so we can be seen easily from a distance. There’s no room to over take a horse on them so it’s slow right down and we will pass you on the verge or car/horse waits at a passing place.
This is what our typical B roads are like. The main road’s traffic can be a bit hairy though.

After being south recently and seeing the lanes I can see how it would be dangerous. But they are beautiful with the trees and hedges.

 

[webble]

@Peglo that looks lovely hacking! What are your front boots?

 

[Orangehorse]

Our B roads are definitely safer than the main roads. We don’t have tall hedges or trees along the roads where we are and it’s pretty flat so we can be seen easily from a distance. There’s no roam to over take a horse on them so it’s slow right down and we will pass you on the verge or car/horse waits at a passing place. View attachment 115137
This is what our typical B roads are like. The main road’s traffic can be a bit hairy though.

After being south recently and seeing the lanes I can see how it would be dangerous. But they are beautiful with the trees and hedges.

Cripes, I know what the hazard would be there! What a lovely landscape, you're so fortunate to have that around you. Enjoy.

 

[Peglo]

@Peglo that looks lovely hacking! What are your front boots?

She’s got easyboot gloves on.

@Orangehorse yeah we are really lucky. And surprisingly the alpacas don’t get the stare sheep do

 

[webble]

She’s got easyboot gloves on.

oh I meant the bit thats covering her knees, I've not seen those before

 

[Peglo]

oh I meant the bit thats covering her knees, I've not seen those before

Ah sorry it’s the westropp knee boots. I really like them.

 

[Miss_Millie]

At my previous yard, you could either ride through a housing estate, or ride on the narrow country roads with high hedges and enough straights for people to go really fast. I rode in the housing estate 99% of the time. It had wide pavements, and people drove cautiously because they expected kids, dogs, cats, etc. to pop out in front of them. The roads, once you left the estate, were terrifying.

It's similar where I am at the moment. Once you're in the village it's fine, but the narrow country lanes can be awful, especially as there are a lot of hills which people speed down.

 

[Miss_Millie]

Our B roads are definitely safer than the main roads. We don’t have tall hedges or trees along the roads where we are and it’s pretty flat so we can be seen easily from a distance. There’s no room to over take a horse on them so it’s slow right down and we will pass you on the verge or car/horse waits at a passing place. View attachment 115137
This is what our typical B roads are like. The main road’s traffic can be a bit hairy though.

After being south recently and seeing the lanes I can see how it would be dangerous. But they are beautiful with the trees and hedges.

Wow that's my kind of hacking, what part of the country are you in?

I'm moving to an area where we'll have to hack a national speed limit road for 5 mins to get on the bridleway, but it's more like the one in your picture, very open but also double lanes. It is a quiet road as very rural, so not a lot of traffic anyway. I've just been pondering it all and it occurred to me that the worst roads I've ever hacked down are the high hedged ones with lots of bends in the road, regardless of what the speed limit is. At least if the road is open, you can see what is coming and vice versa.

 

[cold_feet]

Our B roads are definitely safer than the main roads. We don’t have tall hedges or trees along the roads where we are and it’s pretty flat so we can be seen easily from a distance. There’s no room to over take a horse on them so it’s slow right down and we will pass you on the verge or car/horse waits at a passing place.
This is what our typical B roads are like. The main road’s traffic can be a bit hairy though.

After being south recently and seeing the lanes I can see how it would be dangerous. But they are beautiful with the trees and hedges.

Looks very similar to my hacking, down to the alpacas (but not the same place) I’m on the Suffolk/Norfolk border. I like the fact that cars can’t pass at speed, and I also love to see hedges but recognise not having them makes me safer due to good visibility.

 

[Cloball]

Where I used to live the roads were terrifying absolute rat run with high hedges however where I am now the roads are equally narrow with high hedges but there are soo many horses, cyclist and pedestrians and it is largely off the tourist tract (plus I'm pretty sure my YO has trained all the locals) it is pretty ok. I can just about see over most of the hedges.
People ride along the wide national speed limit road in front of my house but people frequently over take other cars around the blind corner and hidden exit at well over 60. People would definitely overtake far too fast (I've only experienced this on my bike). There is a 'bike lane' which seems to just encourage people to pass too close!

 

[Peglo]

Wow that's my kind of hacking, what part of the country are you in?

I'm moving to an area where we'll have to hack a national speed limit road for 5 mins to get on the bridleway, but it's more like the one in your picture, very open but also double lanes. It is a quiet road as very rural, so not a lot of traffic anyway. I've just been pondering it all and it occurred to me that the worst roads I've ever hacked down are the high hedged ones with lots of bends in the road, regardless of what the speed limit is. At least if the road is open, you can see what is coming and vice versa.

I’m in Orkney off the top of Scotland. Most of our hacking is B roads or a few tracks so it’s pretty good. Oh and we’re surrounded by beaches. Main roads aren’t really bad but just getting worse than it used to be.

I can imagine how bad those roads would be. Your new area sounds like it will be much safer.

 

[cold_feet]

I’m in Orkney off the top of Scotland. Most of our hacking is B roads or a few tracks so it’s pretty good. Oh and we’re surrounded by beaches. Main roads aren’t really bad but just getting worse than it used to be.

I can imagine how bad those roads would be. Your new area sounds like it will be much safer.

Ha! We couldn’t be much further apart then!

 

[SantaVera]

Roads with pavements or wide grass verges either side so that there is somewhere to get out of the way .

 

[littleshetland]

I had to ride regularly along a B road that went directly to a very famous beauty spot/tourist destination. This particular road was featured in a popular Motorcycle magazine as having some of the 'fastest' bends in the country to ride round...It did have wide verges in places, but the speed people went past was terrifying - it would only take one pheasant or flappy plastic bag to my left and it would have been game over. Sunny Sundays and bank holidays were a definite death trap and I wouldn't hack out....sometimes I'm amazed I'm still alive!
Since Ive moved its more narrow country lanes which, for the most part, are pretty quiet, so Im feeling a lot happier now!

 

[SantaVera]

Roads with pavements or wide grass verges either side so that there is somewhere to get out of the way .

I mean these are the safest to ride on

 

[Caol Ila]

I had to ride regularly along a B road that went directly to a very famous beauty spot/tourist destination. This particular road was featured in a popular Motorcycle magazine as having some of the 'fastest' bends in the country to ride round...It did have wide verges in places, but the speed people went past was terrifying - it would only take one pheasant or flappy plastic bag to my left and it would have been game over. Sunny Sundays and bank holidays were a definite death trap and I wouldn't hack out....sometimes I'm amazed I'm still alive!
Since Ive moved its more narrow country lanes which, for the most part, are pretty quiet, so Im feeling a lot happier now!

Lower speed limits and horse warning signs on such roads would be ideal.

I contacted the council about putting up horse signs around the park. It's next to a huge yard, yet there's only one 'horse and rider' sign, miles away from the park and the yard, where most people don't actually ride. One of the access roads has a few sharp bends with high hedges and drivers careen around them. The council said they would include it in this year's budget, so I hope these signs appear before the A9 dualling project is complete. Signs won't stop every idiot, but even one is worth it.

 

[stangs]

Safest roads are residential roads 100%. If you stick to them, you're safer hacking out in London than in most rural areas.

Quiet narrow roads with lots of turns are only safe if they're very steep, so vehicles can't go too fast anyway.

Double roads are only safe if you're on a traffic-proof horse, and in an area where young blokes don't think it's funny to drive as fast and close to you as possible. Ime, the part of Kent near London and parts of Bedfordshire are the worst for this. The option to be able to move onto the pavement/a grass verge always helps.

Worst roads are narrow roads - especially twisty ones - in areas that were once villages which didn't need big roads, but have since been affected by urban sprawl, so you end up with lots of drivers that don't know/care about horses.

 

[expanding_horizon]

I've been pondering this.

In the past I always thought that quiet, single country roads were safest to ride on. But they are often also bordered by high hedges with blind corners. Despite rarely seeing traffic on these kinds of lanes, when I have, the vehicles have always been going way too fast. I had one near miss where my life genuinely flashed before my eyes and the car was only inches from going into my horse when it finally stopped.

Then there are the more open, wider, double lane roads. Often national speed limit, but also much better visibility far ahead and plenty of room to go around/overtake.

Ideally we'd all stay off of the roads altogether, but that seems to be getting harder by the day as bridleways disappear. What sort of road do you think is 'safest', if there is such a thing?

Safest are village roads which are two lanes (not single track) with good visibility and grass verges. No blind bends and space to get out of the way if needed.

Worst are National speed limit lanes with blind bends, limited visibility and no verge! That are used as rat runs to avoid bigger road traffic.

Closely followed by single track version of the above.

Bigger roads with visibility are better than busy blind bend roads. But you do get a lot of fast and close traffic and pretty horrid too.

 

[littleshetland]

Lower speed limits and horse warning signs on such roads would be ideal.

I contacted the council about putting up horse signs around the park. It's next to a huge yard, yet there's only one 'horse and rider' sign, miles away from the park and the yard, where most people don't actually ride. One of the access roads has a few sharp bends with high hedges and drivers careen around them. The council said they would include it in this year's budget, so I hope these signs appear before the A9 dualling project is complete. Signs won't stop every idiot, but even one is worth it.

When I first moved there I contacted the Highways agency and the police to see what could be done about slowing people down and making them 'horse aware'. After a lot of faffing about they eventually put up a warning triangle about 3 miles down the road from where I would be riding...by which time every driver would have forgotten they'd even seen it.
Both the highways agency and the police did say they would have no problem with homemade signage, so I got busy and creative and came up with 2 whopping great signs, a bit similar to the usual warning signs, but much bigger with added CAPITAL LETTERS! They were just along the road from my property for 17 years, and no one ever complained about them...as far as I know, they're still there!
To be honest, I'm not sure if they made a huge difference to peoples driving habits...maybe they did a wee bit, but at least I felt I'd done what I could.

 

[PeterNatt]

I found riding in Central London was the safest as drivers have a clear visibility and there is a 20/30 m.p.h speed limits.
I always ride out with a Hat Cam (Techalogic DC1 - which fil,s front and rear at the same time).
I also wear a long sleeved Hi-Viz jacket so that other road users can clearly see my hand signals.
Hi-Viz also on horse and crash hat so that i can be seen over hedges.
One county is now reviewing the 60 m.p.h. speed limit on their roads and reducing it to more appropriate speeds so may be worthwhile asking your County Councils for a review.

 

[Barton Bounty]

No roads are safe, it is getting beyond a joke. 4 today and whats the point in complaining

 

[toppedoff]

ive had more issues leading on the countrylane than a friend who hacks are horse straight onto a main road and across the roundabout to get to a pathway on a farm. we had a massive industrial construction lorry on the lane and wasnt very considerate, its ridiculous

 

[rextherobber]

I have to ride on an A road for a few minutes to get on the bridleways. Its pretty straight so vehicles can see you a good 1000m away ( so much hi viz on us both, we could probably be seen from space). It's a rare thing for anything to slow down at all for us, they happily rocket by at 50-60mph at minimal clearance. Fortunately my horses are pretty good , but I try to avoid rush hour. But a huge thank you to the motor bikes, they are unfailingly considerate.

 

[Sealine]

I only need to ride on narrow country lanes. I don't think they are B roads. Considering I'm in Herts the lanes are very quiet and I feel safe riding on them. A lot of them are narrow with high hedges but the traffic is local and it's a horsey area so most drivers expect to see horses and are very courteous. If the traffic is bad on the M1 the lanes turn into wacky races as non-locals try to use them as a short cut and they don't expect to see horses and can't reverse for toffee. If that happens someone will put a message on the yard Whatsapp group to warn everyone.