Road incidents involving horses rise in Wiltshire and Hampshire
Incidents involving horses have more than doubled in a year
The number of incidents involving horses on Wiltshire's roads has almost doubled in a year.
Stats from the British Horse Society (BHS) show there were 60 in 2021, up from 28 the year before, with one horse sadly dying.
In Hampshire the increase is even more alarming, there were 161 incidents last year compared to 61 in the previous 12 months.
35 horses died in Hampshire, 11 of these were being ridden whilst 24 were ponies roaming wild in the New Forest.
Road incidents involving horses and vehicles continue to rise across the UK, with a total 2,943 incidents reported to the equine charity in 2021.
The equine charity says 85% of those occurred due to vehicles passing by too closely.
The British Horse Society is now urging drivers to humanise horse riders with the launch of it’s ‘Look Out for Laura’ video campaign.
As part of this the charity has developed two emotive videos to encourage drivers to think about how they look at, and empathise with, horse riders when they’re out on the road. The videos tell the story of two horse riders who rely on riding as a way to de-stress from their hectic, working lives.
This campaign has been informed by considerable research carried out by Nottingham Trent University, in collaboration with the BHS and Cycling UK, with funding from The Road Safety Trust, who are dedicated to achieving zero deaths and serious injuries on UK roads.
It demonstrates that respondents who were exposed to safety videos which adopted a humanised approach significantly improved how they passed vulnerable road users, giving a greater passing distance and slowing down their speed.
The charity stress this change in attitude is 'more important than ever' and will help ensure more drivers are adhering to the BHS Dead Slow campaign messages. Dead slow was launched in 2015 to help better educate drivers on how to safely pass horses on the road.
Key message for drivers
In line with the new Highway Code changes, the campaign consists of four key behavioural change messages to drivers:
If I see a horse on the road then I will..
- Slow down to a maximum of 10mph
- Be patient – I won’t 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. It is, therefore, vital that we continue to urge drivers to be more considerate when passing horses and aware of how to do this safely.
"Through our own research we have been able to demonstrate that the ‘Look Out for Laura’ campaign has been successful in changing attitudes towards horse riders, with nearly 40% of respondents stating that the videos have changed their opinion of vulnerable road users. "
We will continue to work hard to change people’s perceptions of horse riders and to educate more riders about the people underneath the riding hats. It’s an essential message that will help to reduce the significant number of horses being killed on Britain’s roads.”
Riders urged to report any incidents
The BHS encourages all riders to report their incidents to the charity, at horseincidents.org.uk or through its app Horse i. The more incidents that are reported, the more the BHS can do to protect the rights of horse riders on the Britain’s roads.