The Road Safety Authority (RSA), Horse Sport Ireland (HSI), Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and An Garda Síochána have teamed up to launch a road safety appeal calling on horse-riders and other road users to share the roads safely.
The appeal comes after a recent survey of over 1,700 horse riders, revealed that four in five horse riders have experienced an incident when on the road with the horse, with 12% of those incidents resulting in injury to either the horse or rider.
These statistics have led the Irish Horse Representative organisations, along with the RSA and An Garda Síochána to appeal to drivers by asking them to slow down and pass wide when they encounter horse riders and their horses on the road.
The new survey reveals that cars and jeeps have been involved in the highest percentage of reported incidents involving horses on the roads while cyclists, vans, lorries and agricultural machinery account for an equal share of the remaining incidents.
Mr Joe Reynolds, Acting Chief Executive of Horse Sport Ireland said: “The findings of this survey are quite striking, it’s troubling to think that 85% of those polled reported being involved in some form of road safety issue while riding their horse on Irish roads. We are pleased to be working with the RSA to raise awareness of this and improve conditions for our members and all road-users. By following a few simple steps, you can keep yourself, your car, the horse, the rider and all the other people around you safe.”
For guidelines on ‘Horse Road Safety on Public Roads’ click here.