To be annoyed at horserider?

[MsSpentYoof]

I was on my way home and in the distance I could see three figures, it looked like two ladies and a man, but as I got closer it was actually a horse with a young girl on it (def not over 8/9)

I always slow down when it is people but when it is a horse I usually slow down to about 5mph because I know they scare easily, but as it didn't look like a horse I didn't slow down until quite close, when I had to break pretty quick.

It was a dark horse and just looked like a taller guy with dark clothes on.

It really shook me up, and what made it worse is one of the woman who was there was mouthing obsenitites at me.

I ALWAYS slow right down for horses, ESPECIALLY if there is a child on the back.

AIBU to think that if they are going to take a child out for a horse ride they should EITHER put a reflective jacket on the horse OR go off road so it isn't near cars (especially as it is a long straight road that goes down a hill, so it is easy to gain speed without realising it)

I still feel shakey at the thought of what might have happened if it hadn't noticed then.

I did say I had slowed down because I though they were pedestrians, I was going about 40mph, and i never said i slammed on the brakes, i said i had to slow down pretty quick, because i wanted to slow down before I actually reached the horse.

And the weather here has been crappy and it was at the sort of brightness that you need your lights on but they don't really make much difference. i did look at them, and had my contact lenses in, but still didnt see it was a horse, if the woman wasnt half in front of the horse and maybe it had some kind of reflective gear on it, my lights would have reflected back for me to see.

To someone up there who asked why i felt annoyed at the woman, it wa because i could see her mouthing obsenitites at me as i went past.

MsSpent - Poor you. I am a new driver (having passed the practical test, and the HAZARD PERCEPTION test ), and I still get a bit shaken when something like that happens. All you can do is learn from it and move on - don't let this start to spoil driving for you.

Someone on MN - very recently said that the best advice she got was to assume that everyone is an idiot driver, and about to do something stupid at any time. For some reason I found that reassuring

40 mph is far too fast to be passing pedestrians walking on a road. I am horrified that anyone would consider that reasonable. If you hit someone at 40 mph, they will probably die.

Absolute madness to be driving at this speed when there is no footpath and you thought you saw pedestrians ahead. The horse thing is really irrelevant to that.

Why? they were on the other side of the road!

Sorry, but you are beginning to sound a bit ridiculous, a road is for cars, a foot path is for people, a field is for a horse.

Sorry, but if you are going out on a road, where cars go, they it is YOUR duty to make sure you can be seen if you don't want to be hit.

As a driver I can only make sure I stay aware of my surroundings, but in dim light, or dark daylight (or even night) I can't see everything, even with my lights on.

And Milly R, it looked like three adults, if it had looked like there had been a child at all I would have slowed down even further because I know how unpredictable children can be sometimes.

I am not an irresponsible driver, I thought it was three grown, mature adults walking along, if it had looked like a child then i would have slowed down even more and i had noticed it was a horse i would have slowed down even more.

"Sorry, but if you are going out on a road, where cars go, they it is YOUR duty to make sure you can be seen if you don't want to be hit."

But by your own admission you did see them in the distance. How far away were they before you realised it was a horse anyway?

It depends not a jot if they were all adults or 3 aliens looking for directions.
You should be aware of any potential hazard and drive accordingly.

As you have said you dont have much road expierence so you may want to work more on observation, not what you can see ahead but what might be potentally ahead- visual clues etc
E.g mud on the road from tractors - or fresh manure

In the end you gave yourself a fright no one was hurt. Just dont let it put you off driving.

YANBU
Ridiculous to be on a horse without high vis clothing.

And very rude of the woman to mouth obscenities

"Sorry, but you are beginning to sound a bit ridiculous, a road is for cars, a foot path is for people, a field is for a horse."

And you are sounding both arrogant and ignorant. A road is also known as the public highway - the clue for you there is the word public. That means for everyone, not just you and other car drivers. Pedestrians, bicycles, horses, herds of cattle/flocks of sheep being moved from field to field, horse driven vehicles, etc., are all fully permitted to use the road and have just as much right to be on it as you do in your car.

"Sorry, but if you are going out on a road, where cars go, they it is YOUR duty to make sure you can be seen if you don't want to be hit."

Try giving someone a good old smack with your car and then see what the nice judge says to you about that particular statement when you're up in front of them for manslaughter. And, once again, if you are referring to the horse you met YOU DID SEE THEM and SAW THEM FROM A DISTANCE! However you were going so fast (by your own admission you were planning to nip round them at 40) that you didn't recognise what they actually were until you were practically on top of them which is when you had to brake suddenly and scared both yourself and them. YOU were in the wrong - you had an obstacle in the road ahead of you and you didn't slow down to assess it.

Agreed with Nekabu.

Even though horse riders should wear there high vis jackets I always did when I rode regardless if I was on the road or on a bridle path.

I have seen some awful accidents with horses and car drivers not taking enough care.

I passed my test about 18 months ago and whenever I was shaken up by an incident when I was driving I would have a good old think about what had happened, debrief it with DH (who is an excellent and v experienced driver) and most importantly, LEARN from it.

I think if you were totally sure you were without fault, you wouldn't be looking for reassurance on here? That's my impression anyway.

Certainly the horse rider could have been wearing a reflective vest, but think about your part in this too, what you would do differently if it would happen again and that will build your confidence as a driver

" that you didn't recognise what they actually were until you were practically on top of them which is when you had to brake suddenly and scared both yourself and them"

Now you're just making it up as you go along

WHERE did I say that?

I might sound arrogant/ignorant/whatever, maybe I just remembered that the reason I don't do AIBU threads is because it brings out the worst in people.

I HAVE learnt from my little scare, and I will be more careful next time, but i don't appreciate being told I am a irresponsible driver, I don't speed like most of the people on the road do, and I am constantly being overtaken even when doing the speed limit, I don't ever overtake dangerously and always do my best to keep me, my son and other people safe when I am driving.

It's nice that I came on here for reassurance, because I am not lucky enough to have a DP or DH who I can talk to about this and came to here, and I was met so aggressively by some MNers, probably why I rarely use it anymore

You said: "but as it didn't look like a horse I didn't slow down until quite close, when I had to break pretty quick."

I said: "" that you didn't recognise what they actually were until you were practically on top of them which is when you had to brake suddenly"

So in answer to your "Where did I say that?" - in your first post.

"I HAVE learnt from my little scare, and I will be more careful next time"

Nowhere had you indicated that. Your previous posts were full of blame for the rider and pedestrian.

"but i don't appreciate being told I am a irresponsible driver"

Your actions and response to that one incident indicated that you were being an irresponsible driver at that time. Nowhere did I see anyone suggest you drove like that all the time.

The rider was stupid and irresponsible not to be wearing high vis clothing.

I also slow down far more for horses and give them a far wider berth than pedestrians because pedestrians do not bolt in the manner of a horse. The OP's sudden braking was to bring her speed down to that appropriate for overtaking a horse. You can overtake pedestrians quicker because they do not bolt - obviously you still have to give them a wide berth. If the pedestrians have children, they should be holding their hands.

I do not think the OP was being irresponsible and I've been driving longer than a lot of you due to my advanced age.

As many people have said they should have been wearing reflective jackets but I'm having trouble getting my head round the fact that you mistook a horse for a man.

Maybe it's because, like you said, you keep your eyes on the road. What does that mean?

You do look from side to side, in your rear view mirror, rather than doggedly staring out of the windscreen, don't you?

As others have said, the road is for road users. Those riders were entitled to be on it just as people are entitled to cycle on it or walk along it, especially if there's no pavement, or step into it get to the other side.

As you said, you're inexperienced, and with time you'll get better.

But if you can't cope with the fact that other people will be using the road maybe it's you that shouldn't be on it.

Tricky one really, as a rider I'm always really careful when I have to use the road (luckily not much), to keep my horse in as close as possible, to try and get on the verge if I can, and thank everyone whether they slow down or not. It is amazing how many people don't slow down too - and terrifying.

As a driver I always try and give horses a wide berth and slow right down, but it's so irritating when they're not properly dressed (ie not wearing hi viz) and when they do not say thank you. Much to the embarrassment of my passengers, if a rider does not say thank you I stop and say "You must say thank you when someone slows down, it's the only way to educate drivers and make it safer on the road for everyone" or something equally snotty!

I was walking with a friend, and her daughter on my pony down our no through single track lane when I had to step in to the middle of the road and wave my arms at white van delivery man who was obviously miles away and hadn't seen us, and by my reckoning was doing 40mph. He was absolutely furious that I had done so, and couldn't see our point of view at all, he really didn't see why he had to slow down for us at all, and at the end of our "conversation" I was shaking with rage, mostly because all I could see in my mind's eye was what could have happened.

In this case, I think YANBU to expect the riders to be more visible, but you have to be aware that even if you don't meet horses on that road often, you might or something else like cyclists and to take care accordingly. You've obviously given yourself a fright and them a fright and hopefully both parties will have learnt a lesson in road safety. Please don't resent horses (and cyclists) being on the road, as someone else has said most of us don't have a choice, and find it terrifying to be there. A little more courtesy on both sides would go a long way! Rant over!

"You can overtake pedestrians quicker because they do not bolt - obviously you still have to give them a wide berth. If the pedestrians have children, they should be holding their hands."

That's ok then. You can absolve yourself of any blame if you mow down a bolting child as it's the parents fault for not holding their hand hard enough or at all.

I'd still rather not take the chance, thanks all the same.

Yes, I would be absolved of any blame if I was driving with care and attention, within the speed limit and in accordance with the conditions of the road.

You have missed the point entirely though.

I've missed the point?

You wouldn't feel guilty if a child died under the wheels of your car.

Amazing.

From the Highway Code:

Adapt your driving to the appropriate type and condition of road you are on. In particular:

• try to anticipate what pedestrians and cyclists might do. If pedestrians, particularly children, are looking the other way, they may step out into the road without seeing you.

For the OP:

Country roads
154
Take extra care on country roads and reduce your speed at approaches to bends, which can be sharper than they appear, and at junctions and turnings, which may be partially hidden. Be prepared for pedestrians, horse riders, cyclists, slow-moving farm vehicles or mud on the road surface. Make sure you can stop within the distance you can see to be clear

They both should have had reflective bands on and the girl should have had one of those indicatior lights that you strap to your leg/arm. Not sure what they are called but my sister always uses them when she is out on the nags.

206
Drive carefully and slowly when:

approaching pedestrians on narrow rural roads without a footway or footpath. Always slow down and be prepared to stop if necessary, giving them plenty of room as you drive past

Thank you for educating me.

I admit I am ignorant when it comes to horses and horseriding as I don't own one. I still think it's a big risk to ride a horse on a road as there are so many bad drivers out there and it is frustrating to be caught in a tail back due to horse-riders or tractors etc. Granted it's a public highway, but who likes to be held up?

Genuine question not a provocation: where do things stand in regards to insurance, for example if a horse was to damage a car?

ps, Lady Aga is a (lame) play on words as there is a Lady Gaga and I have an Aga, nothing to do with living in the country.... sigh, I always thought I would grow up to be sharper than this.

Question of speed limit is irrelevant. On most country roads it's not possible or safe to drive at anywhere near 60 mph, even though in theory that's the speed limit.

Driving in the country is all about being held up LadyAga ! If it's not the horses its the tractors, the pheasants, the milk tanker, the baby rabbits, the maurauding sheep, the people stopping for a chat . . . Actually I rather like it that way!