Horse road safety campaign gathers momentum

A campaign to make drivers more aware of issues around the safety of horses and riders on the roads is gathering momentum, as petrol pump advertising for the British Horse Society's Dead Slow campaign is rolled out across major supermarkets.
Joann Pollock complaining that drivers have no idea how to act when passing horses on the road. Lucy Corroon (7) on Halle; Lauren Hamilton on Merlin; Sophie Corroon (10) on Coco. NNL-160428-110627001Joann Pollock complaining that drivers have no idea how to act when passing horses on the road. Lucy Corroon (7) on Halle; Lauren Hamilton on Merlin; Sophie Corroon (10) on Coco. NNL-160428-110627001
Joann Pollock complaining that drivers have no idea how to act when passing horses on the road. Lucy Corroon (7) on Halle; Lauren Hamilton on Merlin; Sophie Corroon (10) on Coco. NNL-160428-110627001

The campaign comes after the charity reveals that it received more than 2,000 reports in the past five years of road incidents involving horses, with 36 causing rider deaths and 181 resulting in horses dying or being put down.

Lee Hackett, BHS Director of Policy, said: “This petrol pump advertising campaign has the potential to reach millions of our target audience – UK drivers. By slowing down around horses, drivers can keep everybody on the roads safe; horses and riders as well as drivers and their passengers.”

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On the day of the advertising launch, Liz Saville-Roberts MP submitted an Early Day Motion (EDM) on behalf of The British Horse Society to Parliament, asking Government to support the British Horse Society in with policies aimed at improving safety of riders and horses on UK roads.

Liz Saville-Roberts, MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, said: “I am delighted to be supporting the British Horse Society’s ‘Dead Slow’ campaign. 36 horse rider deaths on the UK’s roads have been reported to the charity in five years – this is 36 too many. I am calling on Parliament to provide greater road safety measures for horse riders across the UK so that we can prevent more unnecessary deaths from happening.”

The British Horse Society has produced a video demonstrating how to safely pass a horse on the road.

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