I think, increasingly, I'm turning into Victor Meldrew. My latest irritation, one which really bothers me driving my car rather than riding my bike, is the number of horses on the road in the rural area around where I live.
Horses occupy a larger piece of road space than bicycles yet riding them on our roads seems less regulated than the riding of bikes, unless somebody knows better. There has been a number of occasions on which I have been driving round a fast, sweeping bend only to find I need to apply the anchors sharply as the left side of the road has become a bridle path. Fortunately, I don't drive very fast and have never been close to actually colliding with the beasts but the kind of roads I refer to are regulated only by the national speed limit yet most of the bends are blind and signage is lacking.
There is one road in particular, a hill, on which I no longer ride my bike as I have had a few near misses with vehicles. Curiously, it seems to me that when a vehicle comes racing up behind me, the driver braking hard until he sees an opportunity to pass, I am then overtaken with very little clearance. Those drivers give much more clearance when passing horses. Has anyone else noticed that?
For me, horses have no place on our roads in this day and age and are simply an anachronism. Can you imagine the gridlock in our major cities if a bunch of horses were ridden, especially two abreast, at walking pace every rush hour? Apart from that, is it right that councils can prosecute dog owners for failing to clean up after their dog yet horses **** rather large smelly stuff over our roads, the owners seemingly enjoying no risk of prosecution? I know horse muck is good for the garden but no-one ever seems to pick up the stuff from my local roads and I can really recommend avoiding it with your bike tyres!
Legislation which interferes with fairly basic freedoms is not something that rests easily with me and I was never in favour of the compulsory wearing of helmets for m/cyclists, nor the compulsory wearing of seat belts for drivers although I am well aware of the arguments. I have a worry that one day soon, legislation of the same ilk will be created with regard to cycling helmets yet the horsey types will still be allowed to do as they please.
There are times when I'd like to drive all over the local farms and equestrian centres in a big 4WD machine just to annoy the landowners but I suppose that would be churlish.......just how much is the road tax for a horse? Plus....plus....is there any type approval requirement for them.....MOT, insurance? Do vehicle lighting regulations apply? Is there any maximum wattage requirement?
Actually, I quite like horses. They just seem so right at places like Epsom, Ascot and Aintree. Strangely, I doubt if the horses that perform at those places ever spend any time on the roads.
Indalo
(I don't believe it!)
Horses occupy a larger piece of road space than bicycles yet riding them on our roads seems less regulated than the riding of bikes, unless somebody knows better. There has been a number of occasions on which I have been driving round a fast, sweeping bend only to find I need to apply the anchors sharply as the left side of the road has become a bridle path. Fortunately, I don't drive very fast and have never been close to actually colliding with the beasts but the kind of roads I refer to are regulated only by the national speed limit yet most of the bends are blind and signage is lacking.
There is one road in particular, a hill, on which I no longer ride my bike as I have had a few near misses with vehicles. Curiously, it seems to me that when a vehicle comes racing up behind me, the driver braking hard until he sees an opportunity to pass, I am then overtaken with very little clearance. Those drivers give much more clearance when passing horses. Has anyone else noticed that?
For me, horses have no place on our roads in this day and age and are simply an anachronism. Can you imagine the gridlock in our major cities if a bunch of horses were ridden, especially two abreast, at walking pace every rush hour? Apart from that, is it right that councils can prosecute dog owners for failing to clean up after their dog yet horses **** rather large smelly stuff over our roads, the owners seemingly enjoying no risk of prosecution? I know horse muck is good for the garden but no-one ever seems to pick up the stuff from my local roads and I can really recommend avoiding it with your bike tyres!
Legislation which interferes with fairly basic freedoms is not something that rests easily with me and I was never in favour of the compulsory wearing of helmets for m/cyclists, nor the compulsory wearing of seat belts for drivers although I am well aware of the arguments. I have a worry that one day soon, legislation of the same ilk will be created with regard to cycling helmets yet the horsey types will still be allowed to do as they please.
There are times when I'd like to drive all over the local farms and equestrian centres in a big 4WD machine just to annoy the landowners but I suppose that would be churlish.......just how much is the road tax for a horse? Plus....plus....is there any type approval requirement for them.....MOT, insurance? Do vehicle lighting regulations apply? Is there any maximum wattage requirement?
Actually, I quite like horses. They just seem so right at places like Epsom, Ascot and Aintree. Strangely, I doubt if the horses that perform at those places ever spend any time on the roads.
Indalo
(I don't believe it!)