Boro

iTrader: (1)

Just seen this on TV

Don't get me wrong, i have nothing against horses but these road safety campaigners have surely got their priorities wrong

Us motorists are being told to give horses plenty of room and not to try and pass unless we can give them a wide birth. Fair enough, but why the **** do they think its ok to have two large horses side by side on a narrow country lane?

If a car was to come from the opposite direction and around a bend what would they expect? Would they expect the car to know they were in the middle of the road and not plough straight through them?

Why arent these idiots on horses in single file?

Millions spent on campaigns, posters, tv advertising, makes me mad!



Advert >>> http://www.dft.gov.uk/think_media/24...-sense-low.mpg

GC8

Is it not obvious to you? Horse riders ride two-abreast to improve their own safety, by forcing car owners to slow. If everyone drove past as theyre supposed to, it wouldnt be neccessary.

corradoboy

I live near a lot of stables and also a lot of busy roads, and almost all the riders ride two abreast all the time, busy, bends, light or dark If they're two abreast then they don't get as much room from me as they've reduced the amount of room I can effectively give them by their own actions. I will also slow down less and be less inclined to drop engine revs. If they played by the rules you may find others do, but whilst they try and bully their position on the roads they will antagonize many drivers into reacting negatively to their existence IMHO. Same with barstard cyclists

mart360

Remember, we live in minority britain...

if your odd, transgendered, bipolar equine, canine, feline, bovine, etc, there

are a million and one agency's, speaking up on your behalf, regardless of

what is common sense, or safe....

and let us not forget that the evil car is involved, and must be eradicated

at all costs.


The thought...."small person in charge of half a ton of tempermental

potentially wild horse, is perfectly safe" never comes into it!!!

hmmm .. but the thought "poor defenseless horse, could be hurt by that

nasty evil car", is always priority number one


To drive a car on public highways...

Must be...

1) 17 years or older

2) Have road tax

3) Have an anual MOT

4) have a valid licence

5) have passes a ministry approved test to demonstrate safe contol and handling of a car...

6) Subject to speed limits, road laws, speed limits, spot checks, etc


To ride a horse,

1) no licence

2) no insurance

3) no tax

4) no mot

5) no age limit

6) no testing required


and we allow them on the roads!!!!


Mart

AllanB

I agree i think its madness that horses owners do not have to have insurance and have to be tested to prove they can cope with the horse.

I do understand why rider ride two abreast and living in a horses area yes it may be annoying but it is done due to some stupid motorists, I'd rather feel safe and break the law if I was them but a but of common sense on both parties is all thats required.

I've found some of the riders very pleasant and polite if you treat them with a bit of politeness.

AllanB

Brun

Ban them from the roads - or let us in their fields

mykp

what annoys me about horse riders is that even if you do stop and let them pass the majority dont even say thanks or let on, like its there god given right to ride on the roads. I had one old trout give me the v's the other week, because I was on the same road as her!

They should tax them, the bigger the horse and the more polluting it is the more road tax they have to pay! I think about £440 should do the trick.

I also think the riders in the picture above are in such a small minority, wearing safety gear. I have never seen anyone on the road with hi-vis equipment, most dont even have hats ffs! See quite a few on the lanes round here at night with dark jackets on, no lights, etc... especially in winter.

Diesel

It might be 'fun' to pop 'round to your mates house on a horse, via the A3, but they really were designed for fields, not mingling with fast moving metal objects that pay HUGE sums of money for the privilege of using the roads.

If it ain't an essential journey stick to the fields or use a horsebox. Less hazard all 'round - neigh bother

D

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

I'm with you on this, except the bit about horse boxes. Get them off the roads too, bloody slow things, they're worse than caravans

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

Horses were here before cars

boomer

...but roads are made for cars and other wheeled vehicles.

Let the horses stick to bridleways - there is a clue in the name there

Of course we would then get the mountain bikers complaining about all the horses in their way

mb

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Sorry, but if they get spooked by a loud exhaust or a revving engine then they need to be in the fields and not on the roads. End of.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I with you on that;

Everytime I've been up to Lincolnshire I've been stuck behind one in the huge procession that it creates as the ignorant driver refuses to pull into a layby to allow masses of accumulated traffic to pass.

Once I was in a half mile plus tailback on the A46, I was a passenger and happened to have binoculars (ready for the airshow on the upcoming weekend), so I used them to see what the hell was causing the hold up at the front of the queue...yup, horse box

Jamz3k

i know its not politically correct or even fair and is a mass sumption but i have to say i really, really hate seeing, horses, cyclists and motorbikes on the road. Reason being they are the most volitile idiots i've ever encountered on the road. Now not all of the above act like ******** around where i live but unfortunately most do.

Completely unrelated but a Farmer where i live thinks is a good idea to let his dogs sleep on the road outside his house and run amuck, its fantastic going around the corner past his house having to watch out incase you hit his dog. Now when i *do* hit his dog around that blind bend I will have whip lash and he will be paying for the damages to my car

mart360

British man fined for riding horse while drunk - , - Latest news & weather forecasts - MSN News UK

£35 for DIC

yet a car driver would get a 12 month ban, £500 fine, extensive insurance restrictions etc.....


Mart

Leslie

KOT's point is valid, the use of horses and carriages, stagecoaches etc. established the roads in this country and cars extended that later when the roads were metalled. Horses have a perfect right to use the roads anyway.

GC8 made a good point too, they do ride two abreast for defensive measures because they will know from bitter experience, if they do ride single file then some unthinking person will bomb past them at high speed.

Saying that the poster will deliberately give the horses less room or won't reduce his engine noise because they are two abreast takes a bit of beating for sheer selfishness.

It really only takes a little patience and a little thought for someone else for a change to slow down as you pass them and to do it as quietly as possible.

Let me make it clear that I have never ridden a horse nor do I know people who are associated with them.

Les

rr_ww

Just lean on the horn when you get near them. They'll soon get out of your way then.

If they are that flighty that a car going past them will cause them to go spastic, maybe they shouldn't be on the road at all. Upper class *****!

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Yes, they are a pain, however the road is not just for cars, it is for the people of this country, if you choose to use the roads, by and large you will get where you are going in a timely fashion and not really be held up by much other than cars, the amount of time I have spent sat behind horses pales into insignificance between that I have spent sat behind cars, trucks and buses. I never see queues of horses but I see a lot of single occupant cars sat behind each other for hours. If you use the road, expect to come across slower and more vulnerable road users, if you cant cope with that, dont use the road because it isn't going to change.

I drive a car but I also ride a bike, I ride carefully and sensibly and try to minimise any delay that I cause drivers, partially because I know that I am vulnerable and they get really ratty and are apt to kill me if I don't, I choose to ride a bike as I like it, I have a right in law to do so and its getting me fit.

I don't pay "Road Tax", I love that, I winds motorists up, sometimes as I do both I wond myself up about it until I remember, nobody pays road tax, you pay VED, Vehicle Excise Duty, its based on CO2 emmisions, buy a pathetic enough car and you don't have to pay it either ! a bike is a zero emmisions vehicle, I emit a fair amount of CO2 huffing and puffing and significant amounts of Methane some days but I reckon I get taxed by other means for that.


People need to chill on the roads, they have got so far up their own bums in the world of the car, they cant see daylight, 400 bhp 3 tonne off roaders to move an 8 stone woman and a two stone kid to school, a kid that becomes ten stone by ten because it spends its life being ferried around, it cant possibly walk or cycle because the roads are full of aggressive ****** in a hurry in 400 bhp three tonne off roaders.

I am far from anti car, but I think we need to realise they are a privilege, not a right, a luxury, not a necessity, a vehicle not a weapon, office, personality substitute, ego bolsterer, ***** substitute etc.

AllanB

Also theres nothing upper class about riding a horse most of the kids round here who ride seem very average


AllanB

Diesel

Jacko - I think it used to be called 'road fund licence' - but I guess that was way back in the days when we had dentists and MIRAS. Progress ehh?!

Also horses are NOT a class thing rr - I have mates with them who definitely aint posh or loaded. They ride them on the beach by the stables and in local competitions and cart 'em about in Bedford TK's

I give horses plenty of room when I come across them, but still reckon it is a pretty dumb idea, and not essential to have them on the road.

D

Boro

iTrader: (1)

So does anyone else think for a "Safety campaign", having horses two abreast is unsafe? I know people have said they do it to make themselves safer and MAKE cars slow down, but thats hardly the answer, is it?

I mean, i doubt i'd get away with sitting in the fast lane at 70mph and not pulling over when the slow or middle lane was clear on the grounds i was trying to make the road safer.

Just seems weird that a safety group promotes two abreast horses on country lanes. My point about a car coming from the other direction is a true concern. What would happen if you hit them?

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

That particular picture looks like a novice rider with a parent/instructor, so perhaps the implication is that the child is safer like that, don't know if they are but I also suspect its actually contrived for the sake of the campaign and not generally what they do, I cant say I have seen two abreast anywhere, lots in single file.

I just make a point of being hyper careful, don't want to annoy anyone, sometimes the horse rider round here have lovely, distracting jiggling ***** and Jodphurs so I stay behind them for a safe distance, say five or six miles

As for a class thing, that just suggests perhaps some kind of chip on the shoulder, several members of my family own horses but aren't "Horsey People", in fact the posher end of the clan tend to go everywhere by car.

I do get annoyed by horse transporters though, 1962 Bedford lorry on its last legs driven by fat horsey woman with no qualification to drive it, at glacial speeds but like I said, chill, look at the scenery, breathe in the Diesel fumes as it heaves it sorry **** up a hill at 0.0000001 mph.

Thing is, nothing makes you look more of an ignorant tosser than revving up at other slower road users, Scoob owners in particular have an image that they should be at pains to avoid propagating any further by driving courteously and patiently when around other road users, have fun when there is nobody about !

nixxon

You'ld get busted for driving like a tw@t, and let off with a £30 fine.

Boro

iTrader: (1)

As a kid, i was always taught to ride bikes in single file, or walk in single file along narrow roads. I would have thought for 2tonne beasts, it would have been even more necessary.

SunnySideUp

My daughter used to go Horse Riding - and go out on 'Hacks' where they NEED to use the roads at some points to get to open country.

My single fear when I waved her goodbye was that a ***** in a car, not unlike a Impreza, with a loud exhaust would come speeding around a corner and kill her ............ she had some near misses, luckily she didn't injure herself too badly when the horse threw her.

I would ask that YOU get up on a horse, take it onto the road and see what a terrifying place it is when you get the odd 4rsehole thinking he/she has every right to speed around the country lanes!!

Personally, I am too scared to do it ...... but, come on, cut them some slack and give them some consideration for the few seconds it takes to pass!

Boro

iTrader: (1)

Pass? You are assuming the car is coming from behind? If you take the time to read my posts, im more concerned with the horse riders safety, IF they are two abreast and a car is coming from the opposite direction around a corner.

I live in Cornwall, i know how bad country lanes are, accidents happen all the time with cars meeting head-on, luckily low impact speeds in cars dont cause alot of damage. However, if you met two 2 tonne horses coming the other way, im guessing someone is going to get badly hurt.

Diesel

Why even go there?

D

Boro

iTrader: (1)

Im sure the loud exhaust would make it much worse

mart360

yes and no pedro....

Often you hang back to give them room, then just as you overtake on the

opposite side of the road, at 5 mph the dam thing thinks its a wild bronco,

and decides to buckaroo, the rider has no control, you have nowhere to

go, as your only doing 5mph, wrong side of the road, and near on in the

hedge, as 1 tonne of mobile glue factory is hellbent on tagging your car

with 1 kilo of ally boots!!

Then you get looks like thunder, when they do eventually get shergar under control...

bearing in mind, they were the ones who indicated they wanted you to

pass them .....

i have nothing against horses or rider's.

Its riders who take out horses they cannot control i have issues with

Mart

JRFRACE

meeting two horses alongside each other is a lot like meeting a slow moving vehicle , honestly i can only think of 1 or 2 occasions here i've seen a horse that the rider is struggling to control on the roads, and you just back off more don't you? give them some space.

If you come round a corner on a narrow road and meet two horses side by side, and have an accident because you can't stop you were going to fast and were going to have an accident if it was a car/tractor/truck/horse/people out hunting etc, whats most likely to happen is the horses will be fooked and possibly the riders, being in a nice metal box is the safer option in this case but again, use your head

As to qualification to ride a horse, i don't know what people need to do it, to be honest to actually just drive a car you don't need to be qualified either do you? although its much harder to get away with it. But with the classic imports these days joe chavish can buy himself a very fast car for little money, find a way to insure it so he can get it taxed and then go cause mayhem, you need no different licence to drive these cars than to drive little 1.0 hatches, god knows theres enough sob stories that turn up on here about how *the car got away from me* (i was driving like a ****) which is more dangerous, a horse and rider or a loon with a import turbo?