Would you give 'the finger' to a driver?

no never, I would not want to reinforce any negative views upon me and other fellow horse riders for our own safety and reputation.

Once a man was driving behind and I heard him speed up and rev the engine- so I held my horse on the grass verge and waited out of the road for him to go by, as he went by he scowled at me (my horse was a bit jumpy and did shuffle around) and I just simply smiled back. As I set off again down the road he was waiting in the layby round the corner to apologize for being and idiot. I thanked him for that and after telling him about my 15 year old friend who was knocked off her horse the other week- asked him to just pass wide and slow think I achieved something there!

now, this type of thing has only happened once in the 10 years I've had horses! everyone else who has sped by has just carried on. But I still think that an aggressive response is only going to make any problem worse- I prefer to be the more mature person! (even though i'm half the driver's ages usually)

If they could hear what I tell my hacking friend/horse after they've passed they would have a different opinion though :D
 
No, I don't. If I am in a position to take one hand off the reins then what the driver has done is no problem.

Generally I find that petrol heads and bikers behave really well towards me and my little horse, it's usually stupid Chelsea tractor types on the school run that cause issues.
 
I think there's also a problem with the common scenario of drivers going past horses at 25-30mph, believing they are going at the correct speed, whom the rider does not thank because s/he thinks the driver going too fast, which then causes the driver to think the rider rude - and, unfortunately, woe betide the next rider that driver comes across. :o
One could argue that if the rider thinks the driver is going too fast then they should ask them to slow down - but a) do drivers understand the slowing down arm movement (genuine question here - my instructor never taught me how to know if a rider wants you to slow down, so I presume it's not commonly taught unless you happen to pass a horse during a driving lesson - which probably isn't very likely?) However it's very difficult to multitask whilst controlling your horse, and also to look behind you to estimate the speed the car is going at before it passes you ... not very realistic then.

Don't drivers consider that 99.9% of riders don't WANT or CHOOSE to risk their lives by riding on the roads, but they have no choice because of closed bridleways?! Grr!!!

If only tabards stated 'please pass at 10mph. Thank you'. It might solve a lot of problems - and whoever sold them would become a millionaire! Anyone up for it??
 
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As I said on PH I have never given a driver the finger, nor do I think it is acceptable in any circumstances - there is always some maniac that will slam the car into reverse and who knows where that could end up.

Anyway in fairness to the boys on PH most of them seem to be fairly reasonable people.

I have had a quick nosey round their site - similar problems are encountered by both of us - advice on returning car which is scratched, spelling police etc, etc

They have a great photo game going on which would be great to do on here with your horse in the summer - not sure what the relevance of custard is yet though!

Live and let live I say - and if you meet a total tool take their number
 
I have done - some idiot took my stirrup out whilst driving past, its a good job the leather snapped as god knows what would have happened, did he stop? Like hell did he, so he got several fingers and me screaming at the top of my voice :o
 
Personally if i am riding and can see someone isnt slowing doen or driving like a knobber i do the opposite! I smile and wave often shout 'hello'...they often seem to slow down to see who it is :)
 
I have never given the finger to a driven because as someone else has said if I were in the position to do so the driver wouldn't have done any that bad. However, I have shouted rather rude words at a group of lads once before who obviously thought it would be hilarious to beep and squirt water out of water bottles at me as they went past!

I've met some horse riders before when driving that should think a lot more about riding on the roads - I find it incredibly rude when they don't even acknoweldge you behind them and continue chatting and walking at a snailspace! I can see why non-horsey people get annoyed.
 
I haven't done when riding but when driving, yes!! I have shouted and if the driver could lip read then they would know my thoughts. I've been verbally attacked by a dog walker because I passed the time of day with her and she misinterpreted what I said. Hindsight wanted me to give her a mouthful, in reality I apologised profusely lol x
 
Yep, and would again. But only to utter twonks who have maybe passed me at 60mph + on a nsl road. 25-30 is not a prob at all for me, unless horse is doing all kinds of silly things, which he doesn't ever do really!

I would prefer to get eye contact with a 'boy racer' as he goes past at 60mph, than be passed by a woman on the school run driving at 40mph who doesn't even acknowledge that I'm on the road :(
 
quirky said:
I thank everybody :o

Those that pass slow and wide get a thank you for obvious reasons.
Those that zoom past seemingly not having seen me, also get a wave in thanks for not killing me or my horse!
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D'you know what? I do exactly the same as you. Sometimes, particularly young lad drivers, look very bewildered at me thanking them when they don't know what they've done, however the proof is in the pudding and almost every time I meet those young drivers I note that they DID eventually figure out why I thanked them as they drive slowly and cautiously around me. Most of them start waving back to me lol! I would never give the finger to ANYONE, ever. When I see people doing that I do wonder what sort of upbringing they've had.
 
cronkmooar said:
not sure what the relevance of custard is yet though!
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There are a lot of muppets who turn up in PH claiming to have classic Ferraris and the like, when in fact they are 12 year olds with overactive imaginations.

People get fed up with this, largely because there are other people on PH who turn up on PH claiming to have classic Ferraris, Mclarens and the like because they do. These folk have been to events organised by PH, in the cars in question (eg. there are a few McLaren F1 owners on PH, each car worth a few million quid).

The custard test was invented to determine if someone is for real or not. It just involves a tin of Bird's Custard powder and the car/thing in question.

Example: "Are you Jason Plato, off Channel Five's 'fifth gear'?"


C
 
I did once. A woman passed far too fast, I was doing 'slow down' hand signals correctly, she stopped to lean out and shout 'You *******ing lot don't own the *******ing road you know' and drove off. I didn't think it would do any more damage to her attitude.

Normally though, no.
 
Abacus said:
I did once. A woman passed far too fast, I was doing 'slow down' hand signals correctly, she stopped to lean out and shout 'You *******ing lot don't own the *******ing road you know' and drove off. I didn't think it would do any more damage to her attitude.

Normally though, no.
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LOL! Sorry but that would have me in hysterics... poor sad cow.

Take down the reg and tell the police.
 
SonnysHumanSlave said:
I have a feeling maybe he wasnt doing 25mph. I have never and will never give someone the finger, its very rude.

However people do need to slow down or they will end up like this chap did:
http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/update_police_name_man_killed_in_horror_a14_crash_1_1752838
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Still never made national news.

Not enough awareness in the public IMO. I would like it if a few of us wrote to the BBC and highlighted the problem. We need a small feature.

I don't think the BHS or our National Magazines (such as H&H) do enough for us in terms of road safety to be honest. There are currently two adverts which are on YOUTUBE. What good is it there?

Driving lessons.. well... unless you happen to encounter a horse and rider in your time learning to drive, horse-riders and cyclists get little airtime.
 
tallyhohoho! said:
Still never made national news.

wrote to the BBC and highlighted the problem. We need a small feature.

I don't think the BHS or our National Magazines (such as H&H) do enough for us in terms of road safety to be honest. There are currently two adverts which are on YOUTUBE. What good is it there?
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Unfortunately it is very expensive to advertise on t.v. especially at peak viewing times. This could only be achieved if far more horse riders were members of the BHS and they had a larger budget for road safety adverts.

What horse riders need to consider is the vast amount of money spent on providing cyclists with off road routes yet horse riding receives hardly anything. What horse riders need is the opportunity to ride off road and every yard should have an off road link to a network of or road routes. This can only be realisticly achieved if horse riders are prepared to put their hands in their pockets and one good way would be by joining the BHS which is the only national organisation that represents horse riders.
 
My "other half" and several of his mates are Pistonheads. I think it's like this forum, it would be wrong to form the view that the rants of a few represent everyone there. My OH worries about me riding on the road but he knows that if I want to get out and about, and on to the safer off-road riding, I have no choice.
I avoid rude gestures and abuse when riding, and do a lot of thanking, sometimes when they really don't deserve it. We are vulnerable when we're out and need to bear that in mind. I suppose I'd like any Pistonheads reading this to take on board a couple of things:

We tend not to ride on roads by choice. We'd prefer to be riding through fields, commons and woodland, but they aren't as accessible as non-riders often think. I'm surrounded by what looks like great riding, but I have to ride past it to get to the woodland. I count myself lucky to have any off-road riding at all.

If a car driver is involved in an accident with a horse and rider, they are at least as likely to get killed. Riders get thrown off, horses get hit and can land on the front of the car and through the windscreen. Maybe worth a thought next time someone contemplates how they are going to approach a horse on the road?

Horses are animals just like any domestic pets that drivers have at home. We do our best, but they are animals, not machines.
 
PeterNatt said:
Unfortunately it is very expensive to advertise on t.v. especially at peak viewing times. This could only be achieved if far more horse riders were members of the BHS and they had a larger budget for road safety adverts.

What horse riders need to consider is the vast amount of money spent on providing cyclists with off road routes yet horse riding receives hardly anything. What horse riders need is the opportunity to ride off road and every yard should have an off road link to a network of or road routes. This can only be realisticly achieved if horse riders are prepared to put their hands in their pockets and one good way would be by joining the BHS which is the only national organisation that represents horse riders.
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I agree with you Peter, I've been an active member for over 10 years and I am surprised how many riders are NOT members. However, I still think the BHS are not active enough, as far as I can see in my area.

Advertising is not the only way though, there is so little coverage on TV on tragedies involving horses and riders. Only the people who care get to know about it.
 
No. But only because my mouth moves faster!
I always thank anyone who changes to slow or wide, even if I don't think enough.
I have also opened mouth when in a car to idiots on horses. Most acknowledge why I've pointed an issue out ( wrong side of the road over a blind hill, they'd assumed we could see horses and apologised) and others who haven't taken kindly - mostly when I point out that a hand thankyou or nod of the head would mean more people passed sensibly than a glare.
 
No I think its rude let alone antagonistic. Why would you put yourself and your horse on danger? However that said I did ride out with people that do give the finger and verbal abuse whilst i inwardly cringe. Needless to say I no longer ride out with said people.
 
I find it hilarious that the non-horse riders (on that forum and elsewhere) think that we should "stick to riding in fields".

Yes, where are these oodles of fields that we should ride in? There WAS one near me that had a bridle path running through it that you could canter on but now Jelson Homes has fixed that so now it's overpriced empty housing estate with roads going through it.

There are no fields as most of the farmers own them, do not want anyone on them or the councils get backhanders to sell off the public fields to developers to make more empty over-priced housing estates!

The scant precious fields that there are, you have to ride on busy roads to get to them.
 
When I was 16 and looked good in johds I was frequently "tooted" at by the drivers leaving the college next to our field.

One day I was setting out on a hack when I was tooted from behind by a passing car. I turned with the most evil expression and extended middle finger I could manage to face my father and one of the Racehorse owners driving past!

(my father considered my lively Welsh D a very steady quiet pony).

Embarrassing all round as I was not thought of as that kind of girl!
 
I almost wish I hadn't clicked on that link... I really find it sad that there are people who think they would be completely justified, and it would be funny, to deliberately overtake in a way that would scare a horse. Do they not understand that legally we have every right to be there, and have they never known anyone be injured? Working in an A&E department, I find it sickening that anyone would want to cause injury on purpose just because someone was riding a horse :(

I have had several very near misses, and most recently I was missed by a lorry by inches - I made a note of the registration, and emailed the company, copied in to the local police and BHS with all the details.

I have on occasion waved a fist when someone has been an absolute idiot - such as the charming gent who overtook me on a narrow road whilst the horse was already spooking at pigs running along the fenceline...

I just make a point of giving a wave whenever possible, and at the very least, giving a nod and saying thankyou...
 
melbiswas said:
When I was 16 and looked good in johds I was frequently "tooted" at by the drivers leaving the college next to our field.

One day I was setting out on a hack when I was tooted from behind by a passing car. I turned with the most evil expression and extended middle finger I could manage to face my father and one of the Racehorse owners driving past!

(my father considered my lively Welsh D a very steady quiet pony).

Embarrassing all round as I was not thought of as that kind of girl!
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Ha ha! Gold! :D
 
a friend used to ride with a bolt on the end of her whip and if someone got to close she'd tap the car with it, if they said anything she'd say they shouldn't have been so close that her stirrup hit the side of their car, haha!

this was somewhere near london though! wouldnt happen where we live!
 
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