Travelling in a horse lorry

[Borris]

Hi. Can some of you knowledgeable horsey folk help me with a safety question please.

DD has a pony at her dads house and he has a horse. He has one of those large ish lorries with a cabin at the front, a living area in the middle and room for 2 or 3 horses at the back. I think there's a bed over the driving position.

I've just found out that DD aged 12 travels in the middle living area with no seat belt to keep an eye on the horses.

Is this normal? Is it legal? It seems unsafe to me. But I don't know much about horses and XH is difficult so I only want to bring it up if it's wrong.

Thanks

Why doesn’t he just have a camera on the dashboard to keep an eye on the horses? If they crash or stop abruptly and she has no seatbelt on she will get hurt from being thrown out of her seat ! (Like people who don’t have their seatbelt clipped in on a plane and then there’s a tiny bit of unexpected turbulence and they get hurt when otherwise they would have been fine)

it’s not illegal to travel in the living area BUT
A 12 year old and under should be in a 3 point child restraint with a proper seat belt in a forward facing seat in that area. If the seat is not forward facing and they have a 3 point child restraint and seat belt (not a lap belt) there can be more injury (as they are not meant for side facing seats)

He can also be guilty of an offence for carrying passengers in a unsafe manner in the current situation

It's perfectly legal to do this providing the cab and living area are accessible to each other. If the cab is separate and you have to exit it by the doors to enter the living then it's not legal

Just like travelling on a bus with no seatbelt really.

Surely it’s only like travelling in the back of a motor home . We used to do this with our horses when I was a kid , often there wasn’t room in the front .

thanks for the replies. I won’t say anything to him as it sounds like it is legal. I still
think with a seatbelt in the front sounds the safest place and the idea of a camera to watch the horses. But I doubt he’d change unless it was actually illegal

no different to going on a bus

For my kids and others I know it's all part of the fun and excitement. I guess it would be a bit safer in the front with a belt although as pp's have said no different to travelling on a service bus and probably still the safest part of having horse riding as a hobby 😆

@liveforsummer well that has certainly reassured me 😂😂🫣. I’m going to watch her jump a cross country course tomorrow 😳😬

Well everyday is a school day! I had no idea that you could travel unrestrained in a horsebox - I assumed it would be the same as travelling in a campervan where you have to be strapped into your seat. I'd always wondered why so many of them still had cut throughs when cameras are cheap and easy. Does this mean you can legally wander around making a coffee and using the loo? Or are you supposed to be seated?

When I was younger, we used to travel in a horse trailer :o

This.

My daughter just returned from a horse show yesterday and it was about 10 teens cramped in the lorry living area 🤦‍♀️didn't look safe at all, but definitely looked fun 🤩