Yet another car accident

we had similar happen down here a couple of years back. We got our local mp involed and also our local council and we did a walk, all horse riders in the community met up and we walked the stretch of road it happened on. All of us wearing hi viz. We even had the local council walk with us. There was ALOT of us that did the walk and we raised awarness but wernt successfull in getting the speed limit reduced.
I think getting martin clunes on board and jeremy clarkson, and also richard hammond as he rides also. I dont really know how we can get all involved. i hope both riders are ok.
 
Horrific sounding accident, my thoughts to those involved. It really is time to get the law changed to severely punish drivers that cause such carnage and devastation to innocent people and animals lives. RIP poor horse.
 
iv sent katie price an email. Not as glamorous as it sounds haha! I know her brother runs her website so hopefully it will get as far as her! Id hope she would be interested to get a campaign like Think Horse going and get in some more high profile people!
 
Firstly very sorry to hear about another horrible accident I think either the law should be changed so there is automatic priorty and right of way for horse riders and pedestians and any acident will automaticly be the motorised vehicles fault on certain rural roads, the use of sat navs should be banned apart from residential areas and citys.. or if not horses should be banned from the roads as it is the moment it just isnt safe and its irisponsable to ride on our rat run lanes and busy roads ...it just isnt worth the risk..Sorry but anyone who says it is is deluded .....
 
i believe but do correct me if wrong horses have priority over all uk roads other than motorways - but we need to educate smile and thank, wear hi vis anything to help the non horsey drivers to understand - may i say the drivers in Saughall cheshire you are the best - slow down wait smile wave -but now my thoughts with the owners family an friends so so so sad and you are in my heart tonight xx
 
I'm pretty sure that the Top Gear will have a website. If someone can find it, it might be worth finding out if they could highlight it in one of their programmes - lets face it, it's watched by a lot of petrolheads who probably don't give a thought to passing horses..
 
to ban horses from our lanes and roads is a step back - but we are also responsible to make our selves visable to thank with a big smile and a wave - also to educate the young on road riding - i believe no horse should be ridden on road with out basic hi viz let the bloody driver see you - then lets learn some manners as in a thank you - i have ridden so many times pass ppl having a cig, on thier phone , in traniers , no hat and no thank you for slowing down - manners cost nothing but can save a live - sorry so passionate about riding on roads :(
 
Holly Hocks said:
I'm pretty sure that the Top Gear will have a website. If someone can find it, it might be worth finding out if they could highlight it in one of their programmes - lets face it, it's watched by a lot of petrolheads who probably don't give a thought to passing horses..
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I would say car entusiasts and keen drivers are very aware of what is going on around them I would be more worryied by the morons with a sat nav stuck in the middle of the screen absucting their view as they speed down lanes as a short cut and the school run mums ..oh and FYI quite a lot of horsey people on the piston heads all creatures forum (part of a huge car web site) maybe we could all post something on that....
 
perfect11s said:
I would say car entusiasts and keen drivers are very aware of what is going on around them I would be more worryied by the morons with a sat nav stuck in the middle of the screen absucting their view as they speed down lanes as a short cut and the school run mums ..oh and FYI quite a lot of horsey people on the piston heads all creatures forum (part of a huge car web site) maybe we could all post something on that....
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Sounds good - the more people who get on board, then the more chance of getting noticed.....you're probably right about the car enthusiasts being aware of horses - I get passed regularly by a very dishy man in a lovely sporty white audi and he always slows down, or stops if I ask him to........the old men and women in their Honda Jazz's are the worst!
 
The accident on Mansfield Road was truly horrific. I live in Shropshire, not a horse rider but a walker and bike rider, and very aware of the dangers of walking and cycling on the roads. I commute daily to Holmewood Chesterfield where I work, (relocating). I was parked on the Car Park at Williamthorpe Ponds, taking a lunchtime stroll. I heard what I thought was a gas explosion, but then a scream. I went to the road, and that scene I will remember forever. The horse rider was on the ground, (full hi vis Jacket), conscious but not moving, but, desperately hoping for her horse, to have survived. I walked about 30 metres up the road to the unfortunate horse to see if I could do anything. It was obvious far beyond me to do anything, even comfort. Further up the road was the tailgate and roof lining of a small car. By the time the I got back to the rider she was being comforted by another girl , The police and ambulance had been summoned. All credit to the emergency services and air ambulance was in attendance within minutes and took control of the situation. This incident occurred on a long straight road, and should not have happened. People who had been fishing at the Williamthorpe Ponds emerged to see what had ooccurred.There were some tough people there, ex miners used to unpleasnt situations. They were visibly shocked, as was I.

Be it horse rider, pedestrian, cyclist we are all legitimate road users. Motorists should be aware of us, and look out for us. I hope for recovery of all concerned. I feel for the horser her owner.


This incident will have a lasting impact
 
I really hope the two girls are ok. What a horrific tragedy, I live in Chesterfield and regularly ride my boy out kitted in hi vis top to toe. It really does make you sad when you hear something like this, especially so close to home. Best wishes to riders and family. X x x
 
I posted on here the other day when I was thinking about how a campaign could start. I think the majority of drivers are not trying to be idiots, they just don't know how to behave around horses and think of them as machines. I wondered if a polite Facebook message would work - a reminder of how dangerous it is to go fast past a horse. If everyone on here who is also on Facebook were to put a message on their profile, it should reach many thousands of people.
I was thinking about:

To Drivers: please could you take a minute to read this message about horses on the road - it might help reduce the number of horrific accidents that occur each year. The Highway Code says
'Be particularly careful of horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles especially when
overtaking. Always pass wide and slowly. Horse riders are often children, so take extra care and remember riders may ride in double file when escorting a young or inexperienced horse or rider. Look out for horse riders’ and horse drivers’ signals and heed a request to slow down or stop. Take great care and treat all horses as a potential hazard; they can be unpredictable, despite the efforts of their rider/driver'.
Please also remember that sometimes it is impossible for the rider to make a signal - please just slow down anyway. A very rough guide to speeds would be to pass at a maximum of 30mph on a typical 'B' road, and a maximum of 20mph on any road with less than two way traffic. Larger or noisier vehicles (eg a car with a trailer attached) should slow down even more.
To Riders: please make every effort to thank those drivers who do behave sensibly and courteously so they are encouraged to do so then next time they meet you or another rider.

What do people think? A good idea? Any improvements to suggest?
 
Problem is, the drivers that cause these accidents are mostly the ones that think horses shouldnt be on the roads, so wont slow down for them. Our driver has shown no remose,and has never spoken to me so has never apologised for what he has done. When it was in the paper and on the internet there were comments and I believe (although I have no proof) that he was one person commenting on there that although he feels guilty for what happened, horses shouldnt be on the roads in the first place. I dont know how his mind could be changed after what he done.
 
There is a slow down for horses page that you can like and also if you sign the petition then it goes on your wall so I just added a comment and asked all my horsey friends to sign as well. I emailed Katie price as well...just hoping that either she or Martin answer the emails. I will try top gear today bit I think success will come if we all do it as it shows them how serious the problem is.
 
So so sad, thoughts to rider involved :-( The shameful thing is the Councils nor the Police actually care, why? a horse is a living creature with a human being on top, if a car hit a person walking they would be in all sorts of trouble. How about someone like Zara Phillips for Think Horse.....
 
soloequestrian said:
I posted on here the other day when I was thinking about how a campaign could start. I think the majority of drivers are not trying to be idiots, they just don't know how to behave around horses and think of them as machines. I wondered if a polite Facebook message would work - a reminder of how dangerous it is to go fast past a horse. If everyone on here who is also on Facebook were to put a message on their profile, it should reach many thousands of people.
I was thinking about:

To Drivers: please could you take a minute to read this message about horses on the road - it might help reduce the number of horrific accidents that occur each year. The Highway Code says
'Be particularly careful of horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles especially when
overtaking. Always pass wide and slowly. Horse riders are often children, so take extra care and remember riders may ride in double file when escorting a young or inexperienced horse or rider. Look out for horse riders’ and horse drivers’ signals and heed a request to slow down or stop. Take great care and treat all horses as a potential hazard; they can be unpredictable, despite the efforts of their rider/driver'.
Please also remember that sometimes it is impossible for the rider to make a signal - please just slow down anyway. A very rough guide to speeds would be to pass at a maximum of 30mph on a typical 'B' road, and a maximum of 20mph on any road with less than two way traffic. Larger or noisier vehicles (eg a car with a trailer attached) should slow down even more.
To Riders: please make every effort to thank those drivers who do behave sensibly and courteously so they are encouraged to do so then next time they meet you or another rider.

What do people think? A good idea? Any improvements to suggest?
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Yes all good ideas but... THE ROADS ARE VERY DANGEROUS and riding on them is risky possibly the most dangerous thing you can do with your horse for the simple reason.. horse doing 5 mph car doing 30 40 50 70 so what happens when your round a blind bend or over a crest????
sorry too many cars vans and lorrys with morons at the wheel... its amazing there are so few acidents!!! I hate to say it but if you care about your horse its best to stay off the roads esp the narrow lanes.... it would be better to ride on a main road with wide verges at least there is room to be seen and overtaken...
 
This is a good idea solo eq- but.. When i originally set up a facebook campaign when my friends horse was killed, you wonder why you bother with the thoughtless yobs giving it "well u dont pay road tax!" and i have found cyclist have the biggest problem because of horse poo causing a hazard for them and their bikes slipping in the road.
 
I don't think horse riders should feel like we are begging drivers to do us a favor by slowing down. I'm tired of hearing how we should appear so thankful and keep praising drivers who drop their speed a bit. How we should campaign more to drivers for more understanding, blah, blah, blah. This won't make things better.

It needs to be a law, not a pitiful request to motorists to pass horses slowly. We need to campaign to the government to make a law protecting horses and riders on the road. Do you think motorists would still stop for red lights if it wasn't the law that they have to? If it were just some sort of half hearted guideline that they could suit themselves if they paid any attention to? The roads would be chaos. There have to be rules to protect us, not optimistic requests if we are ever going to reduce the number of these tragic accidents. Or ban horses from the roads - which would be my hacking and endurance riding finished. :(
 
perfect11s said:
Yes all good ideas but... THE ROADS ARE VERY DANGEROUS and riding on them is risky possibly the most dangerous thing you can do with your horse for the simple reason.. horse doing 5 mph car doing 30 40 50 70 so what happens when your round a blind bend or over a crest????
sorry too many cars vans and lorrys with morons at the wheel... its amazing there are so few acidents!!! I hate to say it but if you care about your horse its best to stay off the roads esp the narrow lanes.... it would be better to ride on a main road with wide verges at least there is room to be seen and overtaken...
Click to expand...

It would be wonderful if everyone had that option, but many people *have* to ride on the roads, unless they want to be imprisoned on their own livery yard, unable to get anywhere!

I have to ride on an unpleasant road if I want to hack out. My horse *needs* to hack out for physical reasons, so what option do I have? There is a path accessible from my yard that would allow me to hack 100% off road, but the Woodland Trust has closed it to horses. What recourse is there?
 
I was thinking the other day that it would cost very little time and money for the BHS to produce a single A4 sheet detailing how to pass horses safely on the road, then issue it to all major haulage firms/coach companies/construction companies/plant depot's etc etc. I work for a construction company, and we regularly get issued 'Tool Box Talks' from our clients or other third parties that then get given to our foremen who brief their crews. Unfortunately I reckon if it had a gorey photo on it, more notice might be taken too...

Think of the number of people that could reach. I know those who drive for a living tend to be more aware and more cautious on the roads anyway, but it's not always the case. Worth an email to the BHS do you think?

Oh and if you wanted another high profile horsey celeb to email, Deborah Meadon may be an option.
 
Has Horse & Hound magazine ever looked at running a campaign of some sort? If all the horse magazines got involved, and asked the various horsey celebs and Top Gear, Fifth Gear etc. then something might happen. The 'Think Bike' campaign seems pretty far reaching.
 
Just looked at the Facebook pages for 'Slow Down For Horses'. It seems a shame that they both use words like 'ignorant' and 'no respect'. I think to get drivers to take in the information about how to treat horses on roads, it needs to be presented in a way that won't offend. Most people out there wouldn't class themselves as 'ignorant', for instance the lady who drove at speed towards me while waving gaily back to my 'please slow down' signal - she obviously was pleased to see me and didn't think she was doing anything wrong.....
 
Must say it’s also down to the riders to help themselves – the amount of ignorant riders who fail to thank or even nod when I’ve stopped/slowed right down for them is unbelievable :mad:
 
It’s just that as a rider of a horse that can be a bit spooky at times, I make sure I thank or at least get eye contact/smile to anyone who slows down/waits for me … just down to pure manners.

Our yard is just off a main road but within ¼ mile we’re in the middle of woods/bridle paths … if it’s quiet then we’ll ride down it but if its rush hour (cars double park – lorries come flying down), I tend to lead her down the road and jump on where it’s safe … touch wood she doesn’t bother with traffic too much but it only takes one little bum to nudge out when that scary crisp packet flies across the road and a car to be coming at 40mph behind you … :eek:
 
I have signed the petition.

My heart goes out to both the rider and her sister, I cannot even begin to imagine the pain they are going through at the moment. I wonder how anyone would get over this kind of thing and sincerely hope that they are able to in time :(

So very very sad
 
I'm absolutely horrified at this. We have 8 horses at the moment in North Wingfield, so close to where this accident happened. My heart goes out to the people involved and the sad unnecessary loss of a horse.

Kim
 
If we really want a national campaign then we will all have to dig deep in to our pockets to fund one as they are very expensive.

The BHS do produce handouts and posters relating to educating motorists which are available free of charge from them. Maybe a handout through the doors of local houses may help with posters up in shop windows.

Facebook sounds another brilliant way of spreading the word.
 
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