Essex sees rise in horse and vehicle road incidents
Campaigners have organised over 200 rides to raise awareness next month
There's been an increase in the number of reported incidents involving horse and vehicles on roads in Essex, the British Horse Society (BHS) says.
In fact, overall incidents in the East were up by 189% on 2020, with 63 incidents in Essex alone last year.
Of the 2,943 total incidents reported across the UK, The BHS say 85% of them occurred due to vehicles passing by too closely.
As part of their 'Look Out For Laura' campaign, the organisation's urging motorists to be more aware of horses, with over 500 horses reported to be killed on the roads since 2010.
The campaign message 'Dead Slow' asks drivers to:
'Pass Wide and Slow'
Another campaign group, 'Pass Wide and Slow', have planned over 200 organised rides across the UK on September 18th, in a bid to raise awareness around how to safely pass horses on roads.
A statement from the group read:
"Our aim is to gain attention and educate non-equestrians in a pleasant way without resorting to demonstrations on how to pass horses safely on the roads so we can all get home safely.
"This is even more important this year with the changes in the Highway Code that came into effect on 29th January.
"On social media we have again asked volunteers to come forward to organise ride/drives in their area and to date we have over 200 on the interactive map covering England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland."
Why is it important to 'pass wide and slow'?
Cornell Heiser is organising a ride in Grays: " A horse can switch so quickly, and they're so fast and agile that, if you're too close in your car, a horse can be in the windscreen stepping on you, and you won't even know it.
"These rides are all about education...
"Motorists need to pass leaving at least 2 metres space, and going at 10 miles per hour. We also ask that they don't beep car horns as that can aggravate the horses...
"People don't understand the dangers of passing close and fast, especially with horses who have minds of their own. Anything can happen and if a car is too close to a horse, it can cause damage to cars, drivers, horses and riders... we just want to share the roads safely."