Steve vRS

Not me but my father, a few weeks ago. It’s gone through his insurance but now the rider’s insurance co. are denying responsibility, stating we should have remained stationary until the horse had passed us by. Here is the statement I made at the time:-

What are everyone’s opinions?

Mine are that the horse rider was out of control and therefore at fault. There is no where in the Highway Code where it states you must stop; rule 191 states care must be taken, heeding the rider’s signals.

Steve

cster

I'm no expert, but I think if the rider wants you to remain stationary, they should indicate so by pointing at their horse.
That's in Australia anyway

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

The horse was not being effectively controlled. If you do not have your car under control and cause an accident you are at fault.

Turn the horse into a burger and take it all the way. Cite negligence on behalf of the rider for failing to control the horse.

Examine the experience of the rider, inexperienced riders should not use the roads unless under close supervision. Do you drive a car unsupervised as a learner?

Try and find out about the horses temperatment. If it is erractic every time it goes out on the road or at least regularly, it is negligent of the owner/rider to bring it out on the road.

wrx300scooby

Horses on the road...........one of my pet hates!!! They should be either in a field or in a horsebox not on the road. My other pet hate are those cyclists who dress up in tight pants and ride around in packs slowing the normal flow of traffic, get into single file and I don't have a problem.

wagrain

Your father showed due caution by stopping and waiting for the rider to signal him to move on. Under the riders direction he did so and then the rider lost control of the horse again.

Clearly its the horse/rider at fault and NOT your father. Take them all the way to court and your dad will win.

Jamescsti

The horse clearly should not have been on the road in the first instance, and the rider was not capable of controlling it.
I would say your Father was completely in the right.

Ialso hate horses on the roads

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

Hi Steve, if it's the road to Dunham that I'm thinking of then it's not a good road to take a horse unless they are very used to traffic.

Sounds like it's the horse rider's fault for not controlling the animal and not picking an appropriate road in the circumstances and therefore breaching a duty of care to other vuses of the highway.

Cheers

Shaun

PS were you going for cream teas??

Bubba po

I don't have an opinion on the opening post, but I would say that there is generally an appalling attitude towards horses and riders from car drivers (not implying at all that this was the case with your Dad, BTW Steve).

I witnessed a terrible display the other week. I've been working at a large house on a country lane, and myself and the other tradesmen have been parking along the roadside leaving little more than a single pass on the road for the length of five or so vehicles. Not far past where we park there is a blind bend. This one morning, a lady rider came out round the line of cars and was about halfway down them when a plonker came hurtling around the blind bend and screeched to a halt just before the line of parked cars. He then carried on slowly, trying to squeeze past the horse and rider on the single-pass road! The horse shied violently and the rider had to scream at him to stop!! He then proceeded to wind his window down and hurl abuse at her! FFS, I had a large oak post in my hands and felt like putting it through his windscreen. An idiot, a ****** and a bully all rolled into one nauseating package.

Spoon

That sums it up nicely.

On the subject too, a young lad was driving through our village when he slowed down for a horse coming towards him. On seeing the horse was out of control and thrown his rider he stopped. The horse hurtled towards him and leapt on to the car breaking the young lads neck and leaving him paralysed for the rest of his life. He was also due to get married in a few months time too but that day would've been spent in hospital.

jonny_693

iTrader: (5)

Its 2008, the roads are too busy for horses now. I witnessed an out of control horse trying to throw its rider a couple of weeks ago. They were riding down a busy A road on a saturday afternoon.

Horse riders, know your place!

+Doc+

The female ones look really fit in Joppers though

jonny_693

iTrader: (5)

This one was fat, and she told me f*ck off when I told her they shouldn't of been riding anyway.

Spoon

Ah but maybe she was in jodhpurs and +Doc+ prefers them in joppers.

Bubba po

Them riding trousers are a bugger to spell, aren't they? One never quite knows where to put the 'h'.

Spoon

zip106

You should try putting the buggers on.
Erm, not that I have of course...

Steve vRS

My family are from Cumbria where all manner of wildlife and agriculture can be found on the road. The fact that we all stopped when we saw the horse in distress exemplified this awareness. I think what riles me most is that the rider admitted liability at the scene, stating the horse was spooked.

Midlife, we were on our way to Dunham Massey to look for Santa's Reindeer. How are you and yours?

Steve

Reffro

What many have forgotten is this is not the fault of either party, driver or rider, both did their best.

Its the insurance company at fault here......Instead of directing your ire at one or other of the innocent parties, think who is actually taking the ****.

nixxon

Honest John: horse power, sticky situations and a carbon footprint fright - Telegraph

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

Hi Steve

You can use your past history of being in "horse country" as part of your argument..... I'll try and remember the legal term

The family are in good form...... If all goes well I think here'a a pic

<a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i37.tinypic.com/im8dp5.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>

I still remember that track day

Cheers


Shaun

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

Hmm....where's the pic !!

back to tinypic.com

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

Mr Bat

The exact same thing happened to me a few years ago.

I had come to a complete halt and the horse reared up and ended up facing the wrong way and fell on my car. The cheeky bint then tried to sue me for the vet bill, claiming I was speeding.

I was advised I would have virtually no chance of winning as judges like posh tarts on horses and not youngsters in fast cars.

+Doc+

I don't care what the correct spelling is, when they are jiggling up in down in them they can be joppers jhippers or johppers, the last thing on my mind is spell checking a word I really don't need

Lee247

Really

Most of the ones on my yard, have thighs bigger than Arnie, and a huge *** to match.

OP, your Dad is not in the wrong on this one. Horses are so unpreditable and the least thing can cause them to bolt. Ours flys off if a plastic bag is in a place it shouldn't be.

I , being a horse owner, think they should stick to the bridle paths and stay off the road.

cster

Since you are almost certainly going to have to make a claim and lose your no claims bonus, does it really make any difference how liable the horse rider is (unless you can prove they were 100% liable)?

little-ginge

I had to stop last year on the A4 between Reading and Maidenhead when a horse had thrown its rider...then it began to canter down the busy road!!

I didnt stop to think, other than I didnt want the horse to be injured or to injure anyone else so I exited the car and spread my arms out and walked towards this run away horse... thankfully I managed to grab it's reins and calm it down. The rider never apologised or said thank you. It was obvious the animal was nervous and should never have been out on the public highway

I don't know if this is any help but the Highway Code states:

Riding

52

Before you take a horse on to a road, you should

• ensure all tack fits well and is in good condition
• make sure you can control the horse

Always ride with other, less nervous horses if you think that your horse will be nervous of traffic. Never ride a horse without both a saddle and bridle.



Other road users

214

Animals. When passing animals, drive slowly. Give them plenty of room and be ready to stop. Do not scare animals by sounding your horn, revving your engine or accelerating rapidly once you have passed them. Look out for animals being led, driven or ridden on the road and take extra care. Keep your speed down at bends and on narrow country roads. If a road is blocked by a herd of animals, stop and switch off your engine until they have left the road. Watch out for animals on unfenced roads.
215

Horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles. 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.
Does this mean that as a vehicle driver you are held responsible if a horse becomes hazardous, rather than the rider???

Bubba po

"Thrown it is rider"

ash002004

iTrader: (1)

In driving lessons your always taught to leave and give plenty of room at a slow pace, doesn't say to stop though, cant believe they are denying it mate

little-ginge

or should I just stamp my feet??