What should I have done? (almost hit horse and rider with my car)

[Redstorm2807]

Posting for traffic as feeling really shaken up by this incident and honestly not sure what I should have done differently.

Driving yesterday afternoon, come out of a village with a 30 limit onto a country road section which is a 60 limit. Accelerated out of village so probably doing 40 ish when I come round a corner and find a large horse with a rider walking very slowly in the road in front of me. There is a car coming in the other direction so I do an emergency stop and thankfully come to a stop a few metres away. The car behind also has to do emergency stop.

The horse thankfully was not spooked by this and continues walking on but the rider is very angry, shouting and waving his hands at me.

I slowly drive past the horse and continue on my way. I always drive very slowly near horses

I don't speed, I'm one of those people who do 30 until the speed sign in a village (we live fairly rurally so lots of journeys are short stretches of 30 through villages then stretches of 60 between).

Thinking about it I'm not sure there was anything else I could have done differently apart from drive at slowly all the time which obviously isn't a sensible option. I could have been doing 50 or 60 by that point if I had accelerated harder in which case I would have likely killed the horse, rider and possibly myself.

I'm still feeling quite shaken the day after and worried about it happening again - is there something I'm missing or is this just the risk we take when driving??

You could have given the rider the middle finger, he shouldn't have shouted at you! I lived in an area where there were always horses and it's bloody annoying

I've been driving for more than 30 years, and I think the things that were instilled in me when I first learnt still stand: always expect something around every corner or bend; always check both ways at junctions before you set off in case an emergency vehicle is coming through; expect every driver to be about to do something daft; drive defensively.
You'll not forget this OP, it's definitely a moment to learn from, and thank god nothing worse happened.

Don't beat yourself up too much. Most roads would probably benefit from everyone driving more slowly but there is the balance in safety in not driving too slowly to cause an obstacle or driving in a manner not anticipated by other drivers yourself. They may even have reacted having been shaken by their own poor judgement.

Yes, you would have ideally been going around the corner more slowly but realistically the horse and handler were lucky it wasn't someone less respectful of the road.

All road users need to contribute to keeping themselves safe and as a walker or rider I wouldn't pass a blind bend without being aware of the traffic around me before travelling as wide as is safe (for earliest visibility) and then jogging/trotting on until I am far enough past the corner that there is time for a driver to see me and react again as quickly as possible. If I was leading a horse and couldn't run for long enough then I would have someone following to wait at the last point of visibility until we were safe.

A couple of years ago myself and two joggers were exceedingly lucky that nothing was coming the other way and that I was doing half the speed most vehicles do around that corner, when I had to avoid them. I drive these roads expecting to meet pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders, tractors, a bus that won't give way, and errant wildlife but they were jogging towards me, shoulder to shoulder around the inside of a blind bend on a country road with no verge and no Hi Vis. In ten years I have never seen walkers or joggers on that side or the road before or since...

You were at fault OP. You drive to the road conditions. You wouldn't cross a junction without making sure it was clear, you don't drive around a bend without expecting an obstruction, what if there had been some traffic, if you rear ended a carn would you still say "what could I have done?".

Country roads are dangerous.

Never pass a horse until the rider had signalled to you that it is OK. That's not the horse rider controlling you, it's making sure that half a ton of horse doesn't end up sitting on your bonnet.

Alow down.

Just because the speed limit is 60 doesn’t mean you have to drive near that speed especially on country roads. I grew up in the country on a narrow winding hill that was technically 60 but it wouldn’t be safe to do much more than 20.

Blond bend says to me slow down to 20, I know you were doing 40 but that’s still too fast for a blind bend.

Have you cancelled the cheque, OP?

Lack of any other options. To get to the nearest bridlepath. I don’t know anyone who loves riding on the roads and does it for pleasure. It is a necessary evil. Thankfully most drivers are sensible and considerate, but of course it only takes one…

You shouldn’t be on the roads with that attitude.

This happened to me, the last time I rode a horse on the road. A car tried to pass too close, the horse reacted to this by turning his hind quarters into the road and literally sitting on the bonnet of the car. I was in control of the horse until that moment, experienced rider, but it was terrifying. I haven't hacked on a road since, and only ridden again a couple of times. Give horses more space than you think, and don't pass until the rider gives you the nod, always.

You drive the speed for the road you can see. If you could not see around the bend, you should not be driving at 40mph. The permitted upper limit of the road is irrelevant.

There are laws that you are required to follow that is to do with horses.

Highway Code will have it on it

byt they’re a more vulnerable road user so have priority.

Now you're well aware that you need to be more cautious, and that's good, but the rider bears some responsibility, too. They shouldn't have crossed where drivers may not have plenty of time to see them and stop, and if they did 'need' to cross there, they ought to have done so as swiftly as was safely possible rather than taking it so slowly.

Urgh, never mind. I thought I'd read that the rider was crossing the road. Now I see they were simply going down or alongside the road. I still think I'd be more careful as a rider in areas where I know drivers might not see me, but whatever. I'm sure I'll be told I'm stupid. 🙄

There have been few if any horse related accidents in the UK where the driver was killed.
Lots of accidents where horses were either killed or seriously injured and their ridden careers were ended. Sadly also some accidents where riders were killed or seriously injured.
What many none horsey people also don’t seem to appreciate is that a horses first reaction to being really frightened (yes a car coming too fast around a corner can be enough to frighten even a normally sensible horse) is to run away, they are flight animals, often in a blind panic unaware of what dangers are around it, bolting horses have hit cars walls etc. Stopping it takes a level of skill not possessed by many riders.
This can also long term problems some horses once frightened by a car may never be safe in the road again this impacts on their owners ability to ride them and their resale value few will purchase a horse that’s not safe on the road.
A friends horse was very lightly clipped by a car coming too close no physical damage was done but again was never good in traffic.
Horses are allowed on roads and it’s a legal requirement for drivers to acknowledge and remember this at all times and drive responsibly.

You need a serious change of attitude @Katemax82 , before you do someone serious harm. Horse riders, cyclists and dog walkers have as much right to be on the road as you do.

As do the slow moving (and very solid) tractors, hay wagons and combine harvesters that move along country lanes.

The rider in this case should not have shouted but 'giving the finger' is a motoring offence. You also need to reread and understand the hierarchy of risk if you wish to keep your licence.

They shouldn’t be on the road. How more of them aren’t maimed or injured, I don’t know. I think it’s cruel to put the horses at risk myself.
They should be ridden on the footpath if there are no other pedestrians and if there’s no footpath on twisty country roads they shouldn’t be there IMO.

There's a national speed limit section of country roads near me where there isn't a single bit you could actually get up to 40 safely, never mind 60 - just have to take it easy unless it's a straight.

What should you have done?

Slowed down for a blind corner, obviously

Because contrary to what many think horses are only allowed to be ridden on bridle ways or land where they have permission from the land owner and many will charge for this. They cannot just be ridden say on any old field running parallel to a road just as in England walkers do not have the right to roam so cannot walk in any field/open space they come across and like the look of. The vast majority of riders do not wish to ride on roads but only a lucky few have access to good off road riding and never have to put a hoof on a road to get to it. Many will ride on roads the majority of the time because whoever rural they might be there are simply no bridle paths or land with permission for horses to cross it.

I live in an area with lots of these sort of roads and I avoid them if I can, it is because of the over confident local drivers who think because it is a 60 mph road they can do 60 regardless. I swear some of them really believe they can see round a blind bend. Glad you can see the issue and I wish everyone could.

What is a carless driver? I am aware there is an error but can't work out what you really mean.

A driver not paying full attention to the road?

Horses are legally not allowed on footpaths or the pavement for that matter.
Lije other slow moving things bicycles quad bikes tractors pedestrians they have a legal right to be in the road and drivers have a legal requirement to drive around them safely.
https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/rules-about-animals-horse-riders.html
www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/other-road-users.html

As a horse rider... thank you.
Also a heads up... we wear helmet cams these days, and we have a portal to upload incidents like this to the police.
I've submitted on two occasions and both ended up with either fine or court

The rider will have been angry because a near miss is incredibly stressful, even if you think nothing happened, an emergency stop right behind your horse is hard to get over. My pony is rock steady on the roads but would still be shaken. Please just assume there's a horse round every corner. My companion would have taken a picture of you and reported to the police. We have had two near misses this year and one person got an informal police telling off, the other driver was sent on a reeducation course through work.

we are not allowed on footpaths.
we ARE however allowed on the road.
The expectation and obligation i for other road users not to kill us.