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.

Please point me to the bit where I said I wouldn't feel guilty.

Also, please point me to the bit where I said I wouldn't slow down and give them plenty of room.

Don't bother - you can't.

What I said was I give a wider berth to a horse and slow down more. The reason being that it is the car going past that can cause the horse to bolt and thus it needs more care on the part of the driver. The risks with pedestrians are completely different and thus require different driving techniques.

LadyAga, if a horse was to damage a car then it would be the car driver's fault as it was too close to the horse unless it was a) a riderless horse that had escaped from a field/had the rider come off or b) the car was parked and the horse reversed into it.

It is just much easier to slow down and take care when approaching horses/pedestrians/cyclists/whatever. A whole couple of seconds added to your journey really won't be making much difference in the long run whereas having half a ton of horse coming through your windscreen at you will be making a big impact on your car and your head!

Oh no, that's right. You didn't actually answer the question.

I asked if you if you would absolve yourself of any blame.

You replied that you would be absolved of any blame.

It was a pretty straightforward question, but answering like a politician does lead to this kind of confusion.

I know how to drive safely thank you, I have never had or caused an accident and despite my irriation and frustration at being held up I am actually very fond of horses and wouldn't want to frighten them.

What would happen if a horse was to damage a parked car? Are horseriders insured for such things?

"Also, please point me to the bit where I said I wouldn't slow down and give them plenty of room.

Don't bother - you can't."

And please do point me to the bit where I said you said you wouldn't slow down and give plenty of room.

Oh that's right, you can't either.

Is some of this conversation just happening in your head, soupdragon?

Whilst we're quoting the Highway Code:
215: Horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles. Be particularly careful of horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles especially when overtaking. Always pass wide and slowly. Horse riders are often children, so take extra care and remember riders may ride in double file when escorting a young or inexperienced horse or rider. Look out for horse riders? and horse drivers? signals and heed a request to slow down or stop. Take great care and treat all horses as a potential hazard; they can be unpredictable, despite the efforts of their rider/driver.

Hmm, I think somebody on this thread is deliberately being nasty....

A lot of it seems to be happening in yours, that's for sure.

The point is, SD, you said that pedestrian's don't bolt. Well, children do. You said that someone should be holding their hand. Yes, maybe they should, but it doesn't mean they always are.

As a driver, you should be aware that a child could run out in front of you, not just assume that someone is holding their hand.

Well, I'm not being deliberately nasty.

SD, let her argue with herself, she clearly has problems and is taking it out on us.

That's right MsSY, I really do think it's ok to pass children walking down the middle of the road at 40mph, I'm just pretending it's not to spite you

Oh, thanks for pointing that out to me, I've been driving all this time without being aware that someone could run out in front of me.

LadyAga, if a horse were to damage a parked car then (unless there were some mitigating circumstances) the owner would be liable for any damage. Horses should always be insured for public liability at the very least. I have a retired horse who doesn't leave the field/yard but even he is insured for public liability 'just in case'.

And SD, before you say it, I'm not saying it was you who said that 40mph was ok, but the OP did say that.

I'm sorry, but I think that's really stupidly dangerous.

If the children are walking down the middle of the road, their parents need to be given a Stern Talking To.

Firstly, I never said I would go past children at 40mph, if you go back and read my posts you will see that I said if I saw a child i would slow down even more, the fact is, I thought I was passing 3 adults who were on the opposite side of the road.

Secondly, yeah, you might want to say your peice, but is there really any need to do it as viciously and aggressively as you are?

Well I apologise if you find my approach vicious and aggressive, I'm very sorry

In all honesty though OP you may want to re-read some of your posts where you dismiss people as 'ridiculous' and 'bonkers' so that you can see how you come across yourself.

Pedestrians should be walking facing on coming traffic, thus giving the parents etc time to move out of the way. When walking with or without children where there is no footpath, I always move onto the bank/very edge when cars are approaching. I always ensure that my children are furthest from the roadway.

Road awareness is the responsibility of pedestrians and drivers. A horse is an animal and thus unpredictable and dangerous despite the best efforts of all.

I totally agree SD.

Thank you for your apology CM.

They were in faact on the other side of the road, maybe that should have told me they weren't pedestrians???

Anyway, it's happened now, I will be more careful in the future, it really shook me , honestly, i just hope it shook up the rider enough to use reflective equip in the future.

thanks for the info

yes, they should have had high-vis jackets on. but one day it could be a cow, or a dog, or god forbid, a child. you are still responsible when you're behind the wheel.

it worries me that you say you're glad you had your contacts in. are you saying you sometimes drive without them?

finally, 60 is the max speed limit. you have to drive according to the conditions of the road, and from your description, you shouldn't have been going very fast at all, so that the horse wouldn't have been such a big shock.

Warthog, once before I rubbed one of my eyes and lost one of my contacts whilst driving, I stopped and hunted everywhere for it but couldn't find it, so had to drive back without it, I now keep a spare pair in the car incase this situation occurs again.

But I don't deleiberatley drive without them, and if I had someone I could have called to bring them too me I would have done.

TBH, I don't actually legally need contact lenses to drive, but they make me feel much better when they are in, without them the edges of things seem a little fuzzy.

The horse didn't seem shocked at all, I had slowed down enough to read all the obsenitites on the womans lips, it had just made me jump when I realised that it was horse :-S