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??

A couple of years ago a DPD courier killed two horses near me driving too fast up a country lane. Two riders were in hospital for weeks with broken bones. If it's something you've never seen before, pray you never do.

This. You’ve taken the advice well OP but it’s incredibly concerning that it’s never occurred to you before! Horses, pedestrians, queue's of traffic, tractors , an accident- anything could be round a blind bend.

Because everyone driving on the roads should have a driving license having passed a driving test to show they understand how to drive around vulnerable road users.

Everyone driving should do so within the terms of their license which includes safety around vulnerable road users.

It can be terrifying at times & most would not choose to do it if there were an alternative, but there often isn't.

Horses aren't allowed on footpaths or pavements & the bridleway network is cut up by roads.

40mph is very fast for a bend. Even 30 is too fast.

Pay more attention to the road conditions (straight, bends, ability to anticipate oncoming traffic) and remember posted speed limits are not targets but maximum allowed in excellent conditions.

I am a horse rider and need to to ride a little bit on the road to access the bridleways in nearby woods.
Thankfully you did act quick. I wish there should be more road signs making drivers aware there could be horses on the road so drivers could expect this and drive more cautiously. I wear high viz at all times so we stick out.
Hope you and the rider/horse are not too shaken.
In general I wish drivers would expect the unexpected especially in rural roads

The horse and rider were lucky you weren't some yob in a BMW. She wasn't happy but how different this could have been. She (and horse) were actually lucky imo.

Blind corner, country road. Always assume there's a tractor, cyclists, horses round the corner. I've seen a horse hit by a car, absolutely horrific.

The speed limit is a limit NOT a target.
you should drive to the conditions rain, darkness, vision. You should not be doing 60 if you can’t see what is in front of you. Sorry but it’s as simple as that.

It always amazes me that the speed limit rises to 60 on country lanes that are frequently bendy. (Not having a dig at you OP, I’m genuinely amazed, as I think that some of the twists and turns are very sharp, some unexpected, so I tend to treat them with caution, and wonder why on earth they set the speed limit at 60 on these roads). If they were straight roads, where visibility is clear, I could understand it. Country lanes, by their nature, will often have horse riders, cyclists and tractors on them, and will not be straight roads, so to me the 60 mile limit is ludicrous.

Just to add OP, as a horse rider and owner, and car driver...if I was going round a blind bend on my horse I'd make every effort to get out of the bend ASAP for this very reason. Fir me, I'd be aware going into the bend what was behind me, then trot round the bend and along the road.

Yes drivers have a responsibility to drive according to the road, but as a very vulnerable road user, horse riders also have a responsibility to ride defensively on the road.

National speed limit (NSL) absolutely is not the same as '60 mph limit'

NSL means that you have to make the choice yourself as to the maximum speed appropriate to the road. It is very rarely anywhere near 60mph. A single track rural road with sharp bends is NSL but it would never be safe to be doing 60.

NSL is very poorly understood by the majority of drivers unfortunately

It will stay with you and although nothing bad actually happened, the fact the rider was angry and you got a shock will keep that in your head. You will now know that you need that extra bit of care.
I past my driving test in my 30s a few months later I had a near miss on a double mini roundabout where I nearly knocked a lad off his moped. He wasn't aware but I REALLY was and it really frightened me. I got to work and had to sit down, properly shaking, BUT it has made so much more observant in looking out for bikes. This was about 18yrs ago and I still shudder when I think about it!

Horses were using the roads long before cars and have always had priority over motor vehicles. Why would I not ride on the roads? Are you implying it is not safe to do so? Do you also wonder why people walk, cycle and run on roads? I hope you don’t drive like you are the only person who should be using the roads.

Think, is there a tractor round this corner!
Could I stop in time? Always, always, no matter what road, if you can't see the road ahead, slow down..

Consider doing an advanced drivers course, will blow your mind (and improve your skills)

Please don’t pip your horn at a blind bend. If there is a horse you will scare the shite out of it and find it in the middle of the road with the rider desperately trying to regain control.

Wow, a lot of people here who do 10mph round a blind bend on a 60mph single carriageway. Crazy!

I do a 500 mile per week commute on these types of roads - 30 to 60mph rural roads and I’ve never once come across anyone doing 10mph around a corner like that. 10mph being the max safe speed to drive around a horse - so if a horse could be around any blind corner.. you all do 10mph around it?

Crazy that I’ve never seen anyone do that in all my years and miles driving!!

The driver put someone's life at risk by driving too fast and you claim the potential victim shouldn't have shouted. Jesus Christ, if someone carelessly endangered your life would you be all nice and calm.🙄If you don't want people shouting at you don't externalise risk onto them through carelessness.

It's the Americanisation of the UK again, the entitled motorist automatically assuming they have priority over other road users smaller and more vulnerable than them.

I think an issue with some people who regularly drive on the same rural roads is that initially, they drive slowly and carefully around the bends, but over time, they get used to there being no hazards around the bends so they gradually become trained to expect the bends to be clear. This leads to them taking the bends a little bit faster each time and they get away with it for years, until the day comes when there is something in the road and they can't stop in time.

I'm not a horse rider but as someone who enjoys walking/hiking in the countryside there is one good reason you might not be aware of. Sometimes when I go for a long walk I have to walk on a country road for a short stretch because of discontinuous footpaths. All roads except for special roads (e.g. motorways) are public rights of way and before motor vehicles were invented, they would have all looked like footpaths, bridleways and forest/farm tracks look like today. Wheeled vehicles (first bicycles, then motor vehicles) are the reason why some rights of way were given a hard surface to enable smoother running for these vehicles which are ultimately where tarmaced roads come from. In places, tarmaced roads have been built over former footpaths and bridleways and have severed connections between them, and the only way to gain access from one footpath or bridleway to another is to go along the road. This is at least one reason why you will find horse riders using roads to get about.

We don’t want to ride on the roads but sometimes we have no choice.
I have to ride a short distance on a busy road to access the bridleways in ancient woodland, I’m lucky to have this in Greater London area just inside M25. Many of the bridleways are gone thanks to HS2. The woods are being torn up by illegal motorbikes endangering also local wildlife and others who want to enjoy the woods

Yes, I think you're probably largely right.

Around here, it just seems like driving standards have fallen off a cliff since the lockdowns during Covid. The driving is absolutely atrocious!!

60 is the limit for the road which doesn’t mean it’s safe to drive 60 on all stretches of it. You should drive more slowly around blind corners or whenever you can’t see far in front of you so that you have sufficient time to stop safely if there is something in the road in front of you.

At any blind corner, you must assume there may be an obstruction just round it, whether it's a stopped vehicle, a horse, ot anything else. You were driving dangerous.

Just because a road has a 60 mile an hour limit doesn't mean it will always be safe to do 60. This is a country road what if the horse and rider had been a tractor, or a herd of sheep? Bear in mind that the horse has every right to be on the road and it it your responsibility to be prepared to meet other road users, who are much slower.
It's also worth mentioning that as a horse is usually over a ton of muscle and bone, an accident involving you colliding with it would very likely have killed you too.

You were driving too fast. If you can't see what is ahead, you need to drive with caution especially in the countryside-thank goodness neither you, the rider nor the horse were injured. The speed limit is not the speed you are meant to drive at all the time!
The speed limit is the MAXIMUM speed you should drive at on a given road-but you adjust downwards according to visibility and road conditions.