The Road Safety Authority (RSA) and An Garda Síochána have teamed up with Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) and Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) to produce a series of videos to inform motorists of how to share the roads safely with horse riders.

The series of videos cautions road users to “pass wide and slow” when encountering horse riders on roads.

Suzanne Eade, chief executive officer (CEO) of HRI said: “The videos have lots of useful guidelines to explain to motorists how to share the roads safely with horses and their riders.

“I would encourage everyone to familiarise themselves with the guidelines, especially as the busy summer period approaches. We all have a part to play in sharing the road safely.”

According to the Horse Road Safety Survey, 1,700 horse riders found that cars and jeeps have been involved in the highest percentage of reported incidents with horses on the roads.

The remaining share of reported incidents were equally divided among cyclists, vans, lorries, and agricultural machinery.

The survey also found 85% of horse riders experienced a road safety incident when on the road with their horse at some point, with 12% of those incidents resulting in injury to either the horse or rider.

Road safety tips

The RSA has reminded motorists and those who cycle that if they meet a horse and rider on the public road they should always:

  • Slow down;
  • Pass wide;
  • Obey the hand signals of the rider;
  • Don’t use your horn;
  • Don’t rev your engine;
  • Don’t flash your headlights.

The RSA has also issued a reminder to riders to be careful and offers some guidelines, such as:

  • Remain on the left side of the road when both riding your horse and leading in hand. When leading your horse, position yourself between the horse being led and the traffic so that you have maximum control over the horse;
  • Give clear and accurate hand signals to let other road users know your intentions;
  • Be safe, be seen. Always make sure that drivers can always see you regardless of weather conditions.

The safety videos have been launched to coincide with the June bank holiday weekend. The RSA is reminding all road users to be careful this weekend.

According to the RSA, there have been 20 fatalities and 94 serious injuries on the roads over the June bank holiday period since 2018.