Number of road incidents involving horses in Wiltshire triples
Figures from the British Horse Society also show an increase in Hampshire
New statistics released by the British Horse Society (BHS) show road incidents involving horses or ponies and vehicles in Wiltshire have tripled in a year.
Between February 2020 and February 2021 there were 37 accidents involving horses compared to 12 in 2019-20.
It's the second highest number of incidents in the South West, however no horses were killed.
In Hampshire cases rose from 69 to 76, an increase of 10%.
The number of fatalities fell slightly from 31 to 25, more than half of those involved wild ponies in the New Forest which have the right to roam.
NUMBER OF INCIDENTS STILL WORRYINGLY HIGH
The British Horse Society has collated statistics to understand the rate of accidents involving horses on UK roads.
In total 1,010 incidents were reported to the equine charity with 46 horses losing their lives and 118 injured.
Although the number of incidents has fallen by 3% the BHS say the number is still "worryingly high" especially given the periods of lockdown last year.
80 % of them occurred due to vehicles passing by too closely and close to half were subject to road rage.
The charity has launched a new free safety app, Horse i, which allows riders to report incidents as soon as they get back to the yard.
DRIVERS URGED TO SLOW DOWN:
The charity is urging drivers to be careful when passing horses on the road and encouraging them to adhere to its Dead Slow campaign messages.
Dead Slow was launched to help better educate drivers on how to safely pass horses on the road.
The campaign consists of four key behavioural change messages to drivers:
- Slow down to a maximum of 15mph
- Be patient - I will not sound my horn or rev my engine
- Pass the horse wide and slow, (if safe to do so) at least a car's width if possible
- Drive slowly away
Alan Hiscox, Director of Safety at The British Horse Society said:
"The number of incidents involving horses on Britain's roads remain far too high, despite the time spent in lockdown over the past year. With 80% of the incidents reported to us having occurred due to vehicles passing too close it is evident that there is still a great need for better education on how to safely pass horses on the road. It is also deeply concerning that close to half of riders were subject to road rage. We all have a right to feel safe on the roads and no one should face abuse for exercising this right. Only 1 in 10 people report incidents to us and we hope the new BHS safety reporting app, 'Horse i', will encourage more people to report these incidents to us."
RIDERS:
Meanwhile riders can do their bit to help improve road safety.
- Wear hi-viz, fluorescent and reflective clothing whenever you ride out, on-road or off-road, even in bright sunlight
- Wear protective headgear to current approved standards
- Be alert and give clear and decisive signals
- Acknowledge and return courtesy, a smile and a nod are enough if your hands are full
DOWNLOAD THE NEW SAFETY APP
iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/horse-i/id1533153618
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.BHS.Horsei&hl=en_GB