Page 1 of 1

One year ban for aggressive use of car

Posted: 5 Jul 2014, 11:45am
by james01
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... horse.html

What I find interesting about this case is that the level of aggression involved seems a fairly regular experience for cyclists - I've certainly been at the receiving end of this type of behaviour and I know that it would be laughably futile to report it to the police. But it happens to horse riders and they get a result.

Re: One year ban for aggressive use of car

Posted: 5 Jul 2014, 12:30pm
by GrumpyGit
james01 wrote:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10946708/Parish-council-chairman-drove-car-towards-two-women-and-a-horse.html

What I find interesting about this case is that the level of aggression involved seems a fairly regular experience for cyclists - I've certainly been at the receiving end of this type of behaviour and I know that it would be laughably futile to report it to the police. But it happens to horse riders and they get a result.


Probably because the authorities view horse riders as upper class (toffs if you like) i.e. their type of people and cyclists as unwashed peasants who can't afford a car and should just sod off out of their way.

Re: One year ban for aggressive use of car

Posted: 5 Jul 2014, 12:32pm
by yakdiver
Maybe were suppose to be more thick skinned

Re: One year ban for aggressive use of car

Posted: 5 Jul 2014, 1:18pm
by mike_dowler
I suspect that, in this case, the earlier action on the green could be taken as evidence of premeditation.

Even so, the judge's comments were pretty negative as regards the conviction.

Re: One year ban for aggressive use of car

Posted: 6 Jul 2014, 7:54pm
by Flinders
Horse riders and their mounts regularly suffer from the same thing as we do, including getting killed. I think it may be more helpful to join with them rather than let drivers divide and rule us. Though it does cost some money to buy and keep a horse, it honestly isn't only toffs that do it. It costs about the same for a DIY livery (what most people have) as running a car, and a decent ordinary horse would cost about 3-9 grand, though of course you can pay less, or very much more, if you want to. There are more horses in the UK now than before the car was invented. Not all those owners are toffs.

Drivers are sometimes aggressive to horses/riders because they see them as toffs. It's not a helpful stereotype. :(

The equivalent of the CTC, the BHS, has a page in its website for reporting incidents (including an interactive map) because they find it as difficult as we do to get the authorities to take incidents seriously. Many riders I know dare not ride on the roads any more because of the overt aggression they get from drivers.

Drivers under-estimate the width of a horse+rider, just as they do the width of bikes. A friend of mine had a van smash into her stirrup, breaking it in half, damaging her leg and terrifying her horse, and that's nothing compared to what sometimes happens. People blaring their horn at us is bad- but doing it to a horse....the consequences can be much worse.
Drivers won't wait until it is safe to pass, just like with bikes.

We have the same problems, and we need to work together on this.

Re: One year ban for aggressive use of car

Posted: 8 Jul 2014, 9:20am
by reohn2
There's seems to be a bit of inverted snobbery on this thread :? .The perpetrator got her comeuppance and rightly so IMO,the damage that could have been caused by her should the horse have reacted negatively to her dangerous driving,could have been catastrophic to horse,rider,pedestrian and unborn child.
I agree with Flinders,horseriders,pedestrians and cyclists need to work together against bad and dangerous driving.

Re: One year ban for aggressive use of car

Posted: 8 Jul 2014, 4:55pm
by thegirlfrommarz
I saw a driver overtake a horse and rider far too close and too fast on my commute home the other day. The horse was clearly unnerved, and was skittish, but the rider managed to get it under control. Don't usually see horses on the roads where I live, but I hope most people would have more sense than to blow past a horse at speed. A fast, close overtake on a bike is no fun, but at least my bike doesn't get spooked (the rider is another matter). :)

Re: One year ban for aggressive use of car

Posted: 9 Jul 2014, 8:13am
by Postboxer
You'd think they'd be far more careful passing horses as a horse will do a lot of damage to a car.

Re: One year ban for aggressive use of car

Posted: 9 Jul 2014, 9:17am
by BSRU
Postboxer wrote:You'd think they'd be far more careful passing horses as a horse will do a lot of damage to a car.

And the driver would have to pay for their own repairs(own money or own insurance).

Re: One year ban for aggressive use of car

Posted: 9 Jul 2014, 10:02am
by reohn2
BSRU wrote:
Postboxer wrote:You'd think they'd be far more careful passing horses as a horse will do a lot of damage to a car.

And the driver would have to pay for their own repairs(own money or own insurance).

Perahps it shows how far removed from reality some people are when cocooned in the perceived safety of a motor car.
It would seem for some strangely,it literally is a different world :?

Re: One year ban for aggressive use of car

Posted: 9 Jul 2014, 10:17am
by [XAP]Bob
BSRU wrote:
Postboxer wrote:You'd think they'd be far more careful passing horses as a horse will do a lot of damage to a car.

And the driver would have to pay for their own repairs(own money or own insurance).

:lol: :lol: Yeah right - they'd claim against the rider.
They might lose their protected no claims for 6 months...