As this is important, I would like to re-publish this article (printed in the September EFA newsletter) on this forum as well.
It was kindly distributed through Helen Moreland, Coordinator, South West Horse (A horse industry group in Victoria's South West) (you can find their link on our "Collections" page)
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In a recent accident at Mornington, a motorist was killed when his car hit two
loose racehorses. A horse frightened of a plastic bag or something similar
could jump into your path, and when you consider that the average thoroughbred
weighs more than 500 kilograms, the damage could be substantial.
The British Horse Society conducted a road safety demonstration during which a
horse was startled by something in a hedge and jumped eight feet sideways.
Horses can also kick out to half their own length, so following horses closely
is also hazardous.
Most horse riders would probably prefer not to use public roads, but to access
riding tracks, and to move from place to place, it's often necessary to do so.
It's also good for horses to have a break from their paddocks and for
performance horses, it's very important for them to have some "roadwork" to
improve their fitness. The difficulty is that horses are thinking creatures and
most importantly, flight animals, so they're not like bicycles or even like
cows on roads.
Slowing down to pass horses, and accelerating carefully once you have passed
them, may be inconvienient, but it could prevent an accident that could damage
your car or risk the lives of riders, horses and passengers in your vehicle.
It is also important to note that many riders are children, so not only do they
lack some judgement in dealing with cars, they often do not know road rules so
they can become frustrated more easily when riding on freeways.
While most horses are under the complete control of their riders most of the
time there are instances where a horse is not under the control of its rider
these situations usually come about because of fear and/or lack of experience
from the horse and or rider.
Most motorists don't understand why horse riders do certain things when
approached by vehicles including riding abreast or double file, turning and
facing cars, or even waving their arms!
Communication between a rider in some trouble and motorists is vital for
safety, as is a basic level of knowledge about horses from drivers. Try to
determine whether riders are signalling to you or not.
Horses are often ridden abreast if one of them is young or nervous and needs
the security of an older, more experienced horse beside them or the rider may
be a young child or nervous rider who needs reassurance. It is also important
to note however, that horses can spook each other, particularly if they are
very fit horses, like racehorses.
Horses are often turned to face cars (or sometimes spin around themselves) so
that they can see what is making the noise that is startling them. They will
also commonly swing their tails into the road if something on the roadside
grabs their attention.
Commonly, riders will extend their arms outwards and wave them down towards the
grounds, this is usually the easiest way for a rider to request that drivers
slow down.
Courtesy is also difficult to convey when riders have had some trouble. While
horse riders are very grateful to drivers who slow down and show courtesy on
the roads it is important to note that an obvious display of this is not always
possible and smiles and nods aren't seen when both hands have to stay on the
reins!
Things that commonly startle horses include trailers, splashing puddles,
plastic bags blowing in the wind, any sudden movements can scare a horse.
Motorbikes and bicycles are also particularly frightening for horses. Sounding
your horn or revving your engine may scare horses, putting them, riders,
yourself, your passengers and your car at risk.
Spooking horses, not to mention kangaroos and other native animals, is easy
when driving in rural areas, especially around bends, and often, horses have
nowhere to jump to in these situations. It is important that once you see a
horse on the road, you are ready to stop.
When horses are hit by cars, their legs are usually broken and in some cases
they're ripped off. The majority of horses involved in accidents with cars have
to be destroyed. Injuries to rider's limbs, backs and heads are also common in
these collisions
For harness horses, a lot of these problems are exacerbated, because they are
less manouverable, and have less "escape routes" than riders. Harness horses
however, have the same instincts as ridden horses, and drivers need to maintain
their awareness with them also.
Aside from the injuries to themselves, the cost of an accident to a rider is
incalculable, as nobody can estimate the value of the relationship between a
horse and rider. Riders and their horses work and often live as teams. And like
bike riders and motorcycle riders are very vulnerable road users.
So please, when you come across horses being ridden, driven or led on roads,
slow down and think "Rider on the Road, Wider on the Road".
Sources: www.bhs.org.uk and www.iam.org.uk
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A useful insert to the story could be:
(From the VicRoads Website)
HORSE SENSE
The Victorian Horse Council and VicRoads have been working on road safety
for the past four years with the result being new legislation to try to reduce
the number of horse related road accidents and the severity of the ones which
will still occur.
Changes in the new legislation that came into effect on December 1, 1999 that
affect horse riders are:
- Riders under 18 years are required to wear an approved helmet when riding
on the highway.
- Horses are allowed to be ridden on footpaths, shared paths and nature
strips, unless prohibited by the municipality.
- Riders on footpaths or nature strips must give way to pedestrians.
- Horse riders are not permitted to ride more than two abreast on a highway.
- When riding two abreast, riders must not ride more than 1.5 metres apart.
- Horse riders must not ride on a freeway without VicRoads approval.
- A person riding a horse is no longer prohibited from leading more than
one other horse.
- Horse riders are no longer prohibited from riding a horse on a road which
has Clearway signs when the signs are operative.
A highway is defined as "a road designed for vehicular traffic", so, any road
for the purposes of this legislation is a highway. Fines for each offense will
be
$20.00 and the new rules will be enforced by local police.
The Victorian Horse Council and VicRoads have found that most crashes with
horses involve:
- high speed roads - 70 km/h speed zones and above;
- outer Melbourne suburbs or rural areas;
- the vehicle hitting the horse from behind or side-swiping a horse as the
vehicle overtakes;
- the horse being spooked or bolting; or
- the horse straying from a paddock or enclosure.
They recommend that horse riders:
- whenever possible ride on off-road trails or tracks
- avoid high-speed traffic - especially where the road shoulders are narrow;
- ride horses near traffic only if confident that it will not be spooked.
- remember, large or noisy vehicles can often spook horses;
- be aware of fast moving vehicles on rural roads especially near crests of
hills or curves;
- always wear a helmet when riding;
- wear bright, light-coloured clothing (reflective material is best)
- especially avoid riding at dusk/night; and
- many crashes involve the horse straying on to the road - regularly check
fencing around enclosures and make sure gates stay shut. "
THANK YOU, HELEN!
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