Pass Wide & Slow (PWAS) are calling on the government and local authorities to make the roads safer for equestrians after its survey showed that 75% of horse riders have had an incident while hacking on the road.
The survey asked 1,000 equestrians a series of questions about incidents they had experienced, including whether they had recorded the incident on the BHS Horse i app and reported it to the police, and whether a helmet or body camera was being worn.
The vast majority of respondents (97%) were women and 80% of the incidents reported involved a car, while 42% of them also featured physical or verbal abuse.
A total of 758 incidents were recorded in this survey. They all occurred while riding or carriage driving on the road and were considered to have endangered the life of the rider or their horse.
Six horses were killed instantly and 11 had to be put to sleep as a result of the incident, while 44 people and 64 horses were injured.
Respondents wearing a camera amounted to 39% — up from 21% in a previous survey — and a further 40% stated that they intend to buy one.
“PWAS are pleased to see that since their last survey in 2021 there has been a gradual increase in the number of equestrians now wearing helmet cameras,” said a spokesperson for the group.
One fifth of equestrians no longer ride on the roads
However, the spokesperson also said that, “The fear for our safety when riding or carriage driving on the roads has increased. Twenty one percent have stopped riding or carriage driving on the roads and a further 34% are thinking about it.
“Not every equestrian has the facility to ride on their own land or to transport their animal and hire an arena etc. There is therefore the potential that horses are being sold, equestrians losing their leisure activity, and in some cases their livelihood. There is also then the loss of revenue for equestrian-related companies.”
Pass Wide & Slow has launched a petition calling for the review of rule 215 in the Highway Code, which currently advises drivers to pass horses at a maximum of 10mph and leave a two-metre gap between the horse and the vehicle.
PWAS believe that making this rule enforceable by law would “significantly enhance” safety for horse riders on the road.
Calls for mandatory fines and points
The PWAS group believe there should be a law implemented which mandates that horse riders and carriage drivers are passed wide and slow when they are on the roads.
The group would also like motorists who are prosecuted for offences pertaining to horses and riders on the road to receive mandatory fines and points on their licence.
For situations when a horse has been killed or put to sleep because of injuries incurred through an incident on the road, PWAS would like to see the driver of the vehicle charged under the Animal Welfare Act for causing unnecessary suffering of an animal.
Strong recommendations by the group also include the government and local councils doing more promotion, including adverts on prime time television, of the Highway Code in respect of horse riders.
This year’s PWAS awareness rides, which last year saw 247 organised rides taking place in the UK and abroad, will take place on Sunday 14 September. To find out more about organising an awareness ride, email passwideandslow1@gmail.com.
Image © Your Horse Library/Charlie Gooders Photography.
