Life in the fast lane

IT’S always been an anomaly to me that as you near the narrowest part of the country road that is most in shadow, that’s where you leave the 30mph limit and are invited to drive up to 60mph by national speed limit signs. I am led to believe there’s greater logic to this than merely appealing to common sense. There has been debate on reducing speed limits on rural roads for years and happily the notion is gathering pace following government review (news, p5).

I recently watched a video taken by a camera-wearing motorcyclist driving round a country lane in which they had passed some riders wearing hi-vis before anyone watching the video even realised the horses were there. Riders can do the sensible thing in wearing hi-vis, which is proven to improve their chances of being seen on the road, but this is clearly not enough if the driver is going too fast to react on seeing them. And I feel they really do need to be going pretty slowly — a 10mph decrease in speed would surely help reduce accidents, but is it enough?

While the rest of England is gripped in World Cup fever, in Horse & Hound’s Hampshire headquarters we’re starting to feel rather positive about Britain’s chances at the

World Equestrian Games (WEG) in September. Two of our most talented and likeable riders — Nicola Wilson and Spencer Wilton — put themselves back in contention for a place on WEG teams with strong performances at the weekend (reports, p36 and p44). I don’t know what the Donkey of Destiny is saying, but I’m starting to feel quite confident.