Wild motorists scare horse riders
A Feilding horse rider is speaking out about a growing number of motorists ignoring and scaring her as she rides the rural roads of Feilding.
Liana Mikaera says wild motorists won’t drag her away from her morning rides, but she now gets her mother to drive ahead of her with hazard lights on.
This isn’t making much difference, however.
Mikaera has spoken out after after prominent journalist Karen Rutherford was hospitalised with serious injuries after being hit by a foreign driver on August 21 while riding.
‘‘I thought the hazard lights would deter people, or at least make them slow down, but they don’t.
‘‘What I find is they slow down and move around the car and then speed up again by the time they’ve reached me,’’ Mikaera said.
Every morning at 7.30 she rides from where the horse grazes on Turners Rd to Manfeild via Darragh Rd, where she has more space to ride.
She said many of the motorists at fault were marked business cars heading to work and her next step would be to lay a complaint with the identified companies.
There are no speed guidelines for overtaking a horse in New Zealand, but Manawatu District Automobile Association chairman Garry Goodman said a commonsense approach is needed from all parties.
Goodman said similar issues in Manawatu were rarely reported and the number of crashes involving people on horses tended to be small and it would be a considerable error for motorists to ignore riders.
‘‘I would expect drivers to be treating a horse on the side of the road with respect.
‘‘They’re a big animal and if they collide with a car the results not going to be good for either party,’’ he said.
‘‘Riders know their horses better than anyone and whether they need to halt them before a car approaches. They want to stay off busy roads if possible and stick as far left as they can.’’
Mikaera said while her horse was tame, others could be unpredictable and little things would cause them to panic.
‘‘A couple of times my friends’ horses played up over things like a flag flapping in the wind or a loud bang.
‘‘Being in a rural town you would think people would have some sort of stock sense and slow down. Sometimes it’s like they haven’t seen you and it’s a bit scary.’’