Coleg Cambria students join forces with police in bid to educate drivers on passing horses and riders safely

Coleg Cambria Equine students Cath and Natasha and their horses Henry and Ted joined forces with officers from North Wales Police Roads Policing Unit today in a bid to raise awareness and educate road users on how to pass horses and their riders safely.

The roads policing unit, which is working in partnership with the British Horse Society – carried out patrols in both urban and rural areas in today’s operation.

During the course of the day 15 drivers were stopped for careless driving around the horses, they had either driven too closely, too fast or had overtaken when not appropriate.

Police say many of the drivers were provided with information and advice on the potential consequences of driving without caution when passing horses on the road.

Passing too close:

Passing wide:

Sergeant Anja Macleod, who ran the operation, has her own horses and has had personal experiences of poor driving when out on the road with her horses.

For drivers who are not sure what to do when passing horses, the British Horse Society advises:

• Slow down to 15mph
• Be patient, don’t sound your horn or rev your engine
• Pass the horse wide (at least a car’s width)
• Drive slowly away

Sergeant Macleod said:

“North Wales is a popular holiday destination for many, and there is a high likelihood of encountering motorists and holidaymakers with little or no experience of horses. I believe that this is an excellent opportunity to educate drivers before the need to enforce or before incidents occur.

“We will also take this opportunity to promote #OpSnap and to encourage horse riders to report any experiences of dangerous driving they may have encountered directly to North Wales Police or via the British Horse Society website.”

A spokesperson for North Wales Police added:

“It is hoped that from this campaign more road users will be aware when overtaking horses and that anyone who sees careless driving around horses will feel confident to report it.

You can learn more about the British Horse Society Dead Slow campaign on their website.”

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