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AIBU?

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Original poster

Funeral Carriage Horse killed by car driver... aibu?

245 replies

AdriftOnMemoryBliss · 26/02/2016 16:13

To think the stupid woman should have the fucking book thrown at her?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-35653240

this second article covers it a bit better and has photos, but they've been edited/blurred. they're not graphic, but a couple do show the horse laying in the road as they were taken before it was removed from the scene.

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/horrific-aftermath-accident-saw-car-10953991

From what i can gather, the driver overtook the funeral procession and then pulled in hitting the horse so hard it went over the top of its harness mate, and she also smashed the front of the hearse.

The horse had to be put down at the scene.

What on earth is the matter with people that they would so something like this?

OP posts:
Booboostwo · 26/02/2016 18:53

I am a rider and have experienced several near misses due to impatient drivers. One man hit my foot with his wing mirror because he overtook so closely (hedgerow on my other side so there was nowhere for me to go).

This must have been a horrific accident but I doubt much will be done to the driver. My friend had a car plough into her horse from behind. He was driving so fast he drove straight into my friend and her horse, killing the horse, injuring my friend and even injuring the other horse in front of her (yes they were all wearing hi-viz and were riding single file). She had to testify in court, the driver was found guilty and got a slap on the wrist - points on his license only!

diddl · 26/02/2016 18:54

Horrific.

Even if the crash hadn't happened, I just can't imagine being in a hearse on the way to a funeral & being overtaken.

How bloody disrespectful.

Gabilan · 26/02/2016 19:06

Booboo sorry to hear about your friend and her horse. I reported an incident in which someone drove at me and my horse. The police never got back to me even though I got the no plate and had a witness.

OhShutUpThomas · 26/02/2016 19:50

Booboos are you on another, horse related forum? Smile
PM me if you want!

daisygreendaisylilac · 26/02/2016 19:54

That's appalling. I feel for everybody involved. Funerals are hard enough without, well, adding to the grief and unhappiness.

ExitPursuedByABear · 26/02/2016 21:09

To whoever said I was harsh. No. I don't think I was

I really do hope the driver never knows peace again.

The more people I meet, the more I love my horse.

And my horse is dead.

FinallyFreeFromItAll · 26/02/2016 21:43

So horrific. Plus on top of all that unnecessary trauma for the horses, the carriage driver and the family (which on its own is unbearable to even think about) - the carriage driver has lost his livelyhood. Not only has the one horse been killed but the other has probably been traumatised too much to drive again. Its not easy to get even 1 horse that's highly trained enough, sensible enough, etc to do commercial work. To get a good pair of horses, that go just right together is incredibly hard. The work to repair the hearse won't be a quick job either.

I feel for them all.

scarlets · 26/02/2016 21:53

When that woman's name is publicised, she'll be at risk from vigilante attacks. She's probably terrified now. This story has made the national news, there's no hiding. Any prospective employer/partner who googles her will find out. The courts are limited in what they can do, but she's not getting away with it.

Very sorry for Elizabeth's fanily. I hope they're as OK as they can be.

Sandbrook · 26/02/2016 23:10

Horrific, and could have been so much worse had the carriage have been overturned. That's a very graphic image to carry with them. I hope they are coping as best they can.

*The carriage wobbled on its wheels but did not topple over, meaning the coffin stayed in position. But Ms Thomas said her first instinct was to race over to her grandmother.

'I knew she was already dead but I just wanted to know she was okay,' she said*

LifeofI · 27/02/2016 05:27

She upset a lot of people, ruined a memory and killed an animal shes a piece of shit who should be in jail.

Milzilla · 27/02/2016 06:22

I agree life

ToastDemon · 27/02/2016 07:18

This is horrifically upsetting, I will be avoiding the media as I have no wish to see the pictures.
Sadly reckless driving isn't taken remotely seriously in the UK. People lose their lives because of other people's absolute selfishness, and get a slap on the wrist. To my amazement, even cases that are bad enough to warrant a custodial sentence, do not attract lifetime driving bans.
It seems to be viewed as a right and a necessity, not a privilege, and many people are remarkably cavalier about their responsibility towards the safety of others.
I personally think people should be charged with manslaughter if they kill someone through willful recklessness, and there should be life long driving bans.
As for this woman, I fear she will indeed get off far too lightly. Frankly I hope there is a damn witch-hunt, I hope she is shamed and terrified and ostrasised, and that this haunts her forever.

BathtimeFunkster · 27/02/2016 07:35

In an ordinary situation you pass a horse WIDE and SLOW (many riders will wear a tabard saying "please pass wide and slow" on the back

OK, good to know.

I don't ride, so I don't know much about horses.

I rarely pass them, but if I do it's on very narrow roads. So slow is not an option, but wide usually isn't either.

I usually just don't pass unless the rider indicates that I should.

Drivers can be such assholes about overtaking.

It doesn't matter where you are going. You have no automatic right to pass other road users.

What kind of shitbag overtakes a funeral? Shock I have never seen that in my life.

Do they have no respect? :(

Dexterjamesmummy · 27/02/2016 08:01

I commented on the other thread back in January, my little boy had his funeral 2 years ago this summer. We had a horse drawn carriage for him as he loved horses, 150 people walked the mile journey with him to the church behind the carriage.
So we did cause a bit of a hold up but it was obvious where we were heading (the route was through a small village with one church). We were overtaken by a bus. I was furious, it was such a dangerous manoeuvre that the driver couldn't complete in one go. When she overtook the horses she went at speed, and this was someone who drives for a living, no emergency it was just a local bus.
I haven't and won't read the stories about this as I know how majestic and beautiful the horses we had were and don't want to see the pictures. We struggled to get hold of them (we had greys) as they are highly trained and not many around. I hope everyone who witnessed it is ok x

Catsize · 27/02/2016 08:24

dexterjamesmummy, that is such an upsetting post. I am so sorry.

Was just discussing this story with my partner, who was shocked and said 'you just don't overtake'. She said that even if running late for a train etc., she wouldn't overtake. And that has to be right, doesn't it?

On an aside, I think it interesting that you have to click to reveal the image. It is not 'extremely graphic', albeit it is upsetting. It is interesting that we can have pictures of horrific scenes in war torn countries etc. - with no warning at all - printed all over the papers, but you have to click to reveal this one. Says something about our nation!

I hope that this case is solved. The final line of the story suggest they haven't caught the driver, but isn't that her car at the scene? Horrible story. Poor family and poor funeral directors.

KathyBeale · 27/02/2016 08:46

I was really shocked by this too, but not surprised. I think the standard of driving is so low now. I can't remember the last time I drove without someone driving so close behind me that it's uncomfortable. People overtake buses/bikes/funerals even when there are cars coming the other way. My kids' school is on a horrible bend, where there's a bus stop. There is no way to see what's coming round the corner, but cars still overtake when a bus is stopped for - ooh 30 seconds? A minute? My husband's been knocked off his bike once badly enough to get the police involved and had several near misses.

Years and years ago I was a local reporter (this might out me though it was about 20 years ago) and I covered a case where a driver had killed two pedestrians. It was an accident. He'd come round a bend, been blinded by the low winter sun, and driven into two people who were in the road (they were in the road, because one of them had done the same thing five minutes earlier, and knocked the other one off his bike). It was weird because he got a few points on his licence (which I never really understood because either he was at fault or he wasn't). But I interviewed the driver and the widow of the cyclist and they were both such sad stories they'll stay with me forever. The widow said cars were weapons and we had to treat them with the respect they needed. I always think of her when I see people driving in dangerous ways.

theycallmemellojello · 27/02/2016 08:48

I think it's a good idea to let courts/insurance sort out RTAs. A witness statement from one of the drivers is clearly not the best source of impartial information!

ToastDemon · 27/02/2016 08:49

Are they not referred to as RTCs now? Collision rather than accident, as the term accident implied they were unavoidable although 90%+ are caused by driver error.

Boredworkingmum020 · 27/02/2016 08:56

I have no words for this self absorbed woman. At what point do you think it's acceptable to overtake s funeral procession? I can remember riding my pony when I was a kid a can passed so close round a blind bend I actually scrapped down the car with my stirrup.

Peaceandloveeveryone · 27/02/2016 08:59

On the petition, lots of people are saying that the driver is an 85 year old lady Confused

LagunaBubbles · 27/02/2016 09:03

The owner had posted pictures on his Facebook page asking people to share as it popped up on mine. Poor poor horse, no words to describe this persons selfishness. Also thoughts with the bereaved family, what a horrific memory of your loved ones funeral.

Salene · 27/02/2016 09:08

To over take a funeral procession is the height of rudeness.

There is no excuse to over take. Unless a extreme case like your rushing to hospital with someone seriously ill in your car etc.

This woman is so disrespectful and look at the devastation her selfish actions have caused.

I hope she is banned from driving for this.

tobysmum77 · 27/02/2016 09:11

The disrespect aspect isn't really relevant to a driving prosecution though.

That needs to be based on her actions being dangerous, evidenced by the fact that she tried to overtake several vehicles in one go and in the process drove into a horse.....

Gabilan · 27/02/2016 09:11

Toast - yes they're referred to by police etc as RTCs.

Bathtime on narrow roads I trot on, if I can, until I get to a passing place, then pull over. I often move the horse into centre lane to stop drivers squeezing past where it isn't safe.

On single track roads, if you're passing a horse coming towards you, it's usually safer if you stop and they move past you. They're flight animals so prefer to keep moving. Also they're far less likely to accidentally bump a car, than a car is to bump them.

BathtimeFunkster · 27/02/2016 09:24

Thanks, Gabilan, that's useful.

Especially this:

On single track roads, if you're passing a horse coming towards you, it's usually safer if you stop and they move past you. They're flight animals so prefer to keep moving. Also they're far less likely to accidentally bump a car, than a car is to bump them.

I wouldn't have known that. So if I meet an oncoming horse on a single lane road (likely), stop and let the rider and horse negotiate getting past me.

So the opposite of if you meet a car, where you both move back/forward as necessary.

Good to know. :)