Road Rules
As a motorist the road code requires that you must:
- Slow down* and pass carefully, giving the horse and rider plenty of room.
- Don't sound your horn, rev your engine or pass at speed, as this could frighten the horse.
- If the horse and rider are on a bridge or narrow road, be very careful – slow down or stop.
- If the horse appears frightened, stop.
- At night, dip your vehicle's headlights when approaching a horse.
- Two vehicles should avoid passing near a horse.
* Slow down means SLOW. Many horses may need you to slow right down to 20 or 30kph. Always give at least 1.5 metres room
Did you know that you can be charged with careless or dangerous driving if you are not careful around horses? - LTSA Road Code
Tips for safe motoring near horses
- Always be prepared to stop.
- Horse riders are often youngsters - so take extra care.
- For increased safety, riders may ride in double file when escorting a young or inexperienced horse or rider.
- Watch out for horse riders' signals and heed a request to slow down or stop.
- Riders should signal their intentions but drivers should be aware that a rider on a young or frightened horse may have their hands full.
- Motorcycles need to be aware that the noise of their engines may be particularly frightening to a horse.
- Wait until the horse is a safe distance away before speeding up again, particularly if this will cause a great increase in engine noise.
Treat all horses as a potential hazard and expect the unexpected! Even experienced, well trained and calm horses have bad days or can be scared or confused by unexpected noises or sights.
Special Tips for Trailbikes and ATVs
- Many horses have seen and heard ATVs around the farm that they live on, and often have good associations with them (they bring the hay in the winter!). However, not all, so be prepared to stop.
- Trailbikes are usually seen by horses as much scarier than ATVs - this may be because the noise is different and\or because the speed they travel at is much faster. To avoid having a horse in your lap, or causing serious injury to the rider, please slow down and be prepared to stop. For very nervous, inexperienced or young horses you may need to cut your engine and\or remove your helmet to reassure the horse that you are indeed human and not some form of monster with a huge reflective head.
- If you pull off a trail to give an oncoming horse room, try to stay clearly in sight. Although it may seem better to clear the track completely, a horse may view you as sitting in ambush if you are partially hidden by bushes.
- If you are on a particularly narrow trail, it is usually best to turn off your bike and talk to the rider. A horse is usually easier to manoeuvre than your bike, but it will depend on the circumstances. Some riders will be happy to make way for you, others will have horses that are completely fearful of the sound or sight of bikes.
Remember horses aren't very smart, and have very different eyesight from us, but they are very powerful and are designed to be highly suspicious of anything new.
Horse riders have no wish to hurt you, themselves, or their horse.
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For your safety, and the safety of your passengers, please remember:
Horses are large, prey animals. Even the best riders have no way to control a really frightened animal of this size.
It is in the best interests of you, your vehicle and your passengers to ensure that your behaviour does not frighten a horse on or near a road.
When a horse is frightened it does not think about what direction it runs or leaps. If you frighten a horse, it may end up in or on your vehicle, or the vehicle following you.
Any large animal on your vehicle bonnet is likely to kill any passenger(s) in the front seat as it thrashes around. Horses (and other stock) will end up in your windscreen (front seat) if you hit them, because of their height.
Vehicles may dent, but Horses and People die! |
Ċ ď Vivien Dostine, Aug 17, 2008 8:55 PM Ċ ď Vivien Dostine, Jul 8, 2009 9:45 PM
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