Why are horse riders pretending to be the Police?
Discussion
Did you slow down/give them more room than you would otherwise? If so, from their point of view, it worked (and you should probably question why you'd feel comfortable overtaking someone in such a way that you wouldn't do in front of a police officer).
If not, give yourself a pat on the back for being a considerate (or at least observant?) driver.
If not, give yourself a pat on the back for being a considerate (or at least observant?) driver.
forzaminardi said:
I know it's immature and wrong and all that, but seeing sh*t like that make me just want to make life more difficult for the stupid f*cking f*cks by not slowing down, revving my engine, beeping the horn etc.
Possibly in the top 3 most stupid things I've ever read on this forum. You have no justification whatsoever for having that thought. Even if you did wrongly believe they were Police riders (which would be incredible once you got to within 50 yards), what detriment to you would that be?forzaminardi said:
I know it's immature and wrong and all that, but seeing sh*t like that make me just want to make life more difficult for the stupid f*cking f*cks by not slowing down, revving my engine, beeping the horn etc.
You really are a knob aren't you.
If it makes you slow down and think, so you give an other road user a bit of consideration, what harm does it do?
This annoys me too, the petshop i was in the other day sells these vests.
I see no need for it at all, i see a horse in front of me with a rider wearing a high vis then i slow down and give them plenty of room. A stupid note on their vest which makes the rider look like an arse will not change my behaviour.
This is not because i care about the horse and rider, but mainly because i dont want a tonne of horse putting a nice big dent in the front end of my car.
I see no need for it at all, i see a horse in front of me with a rider wearing a high vis then i slow down and give them plenty of room. A stupid note on their vest which makes the rider look like an arse will not change my behaviour.
This is not because i care about the horse and rider, but mainly because i dont want a tonne of horse putting a nice big dent in the front end of my car.
ED209 said:
This annoys me too, the petshop i was in the other day sells these vests.
I see no need for it at all, i see a horse in front of me with a rider wearing a high vis then i slow down and give them plenty of room. A stupid note on their vest which makes the rider look like an arse will not change my behaviour.
This is not because i care about the horse and rider, but mainly because i dont want a tonne of horse putting a nice big dent in the front end of my car.
Good for you. Perhaps the vest designer and wearer is aiming their choice at the sort of person that changes their behaviour when they are "tricked" into believing the horse and rider are Police. If you don't believe motorists' behaviours change when they believe they have seen a Police Officer ask a Police driver (or a Blood courier, or even a highway maintenance driver).I see no need for it at all, i see a horse in front of me with a rider wearing a high vis then i slow down and give them plenty of room. A stupid note on their vest which makes the rider look like an arse will not change my behaviour.
This is not because i care about the horse and rider, but mainly because i dont want a tonne of horse putting a nice big dent in the front end of my car.
If people drove in a sensible manner around horses I doubt there'd be anywhere near as much demand for these specific vests.
This bothers me as much as "Polite" parking notices.
mercfunder said:
forzaminardi said:
I know it's immature and wrong and all that, but seeing sh*t like that make me just want to make life more difficult for the stupid f*cking f*cks by not slowing down, revving my engine, beeping the horn etc.
You really are a knob aren't you.If it makes you slow down and think, so you give an other road user a bit of consideration, what harm does it do?
All I have to do is write POLITE instead of Police on the car?
No? Correct, because I would be pretty much impersonating a Police Officer.
The horsey riding gear annoys me. Yes, it slows people down who maybe wouldn't otherwise but if the owners and riders of these giant s
tting machines can't keep them under control in traffic, then they shouldn't be on the roads, they should be in the fields where they belong.I can understand why a motorist would get annoyed by these jackets, which are clearly meant to imitate those of police riders - a potentially safe overtake such as overtaking at 60, moving right over towards the edge of the other side of the road and passing without slowing, putting a huge gap between the car and horse, might be missed because the driver is scared into slowing to the riders pace until they are close enough to read it and realise it's not actually a police horse. Rather than letting drivers get safely on with their business, they are trying to drag everyone down to their level in some misguided attempt to foster safety; the irritation of annoyed drivers is all the more likely to cause them to seek the next overtake in riskier fashion.
I know a guy who is right into his horseriding (yes, he is a gay, before anyone asks) who was complaining about someone moving slowly around him on his horse on the road, pulling back in front of him at an admittedly safe distance, and then accelerating briskly off down the road, the sound of which spooked the horse which then bucked him off. Imo, the horse rider has no reason to be indignant, especially if the car driver went out of their way to make it as safe as possible for the rider. Horse rider in this case was acting as if everyone should accelerate at the slowest possible rate, practically crawling a gap open between the horse behind, to avoid scaring the daft animal. Talk about ridiculous. If you've got a car loud enough to scare a horse, or a horse skittish enough to get scared in the first place then accelerating slowly or quickly is going to scare it, and the horse should not be taken on the road. A car with a straight through exhaust is going to be howling away, popping and banging off into the distance no matter how the driver accelerates off down the road, and unfortunately it's just going to have to be tough if the horse rider gets their feelings hurt. The ivory tower attitudes of these horse riders is frankly ridiculous at times.
I know a guy who is right into his horseriding (yes, he is a gay, before anyone asks) who was complaining about someone moving slowly around him on his horse on the road, pulling back in front of him at an admittedly safe distance, and then accelerating briskly off down the road, the sound of which spooked the horse which then bucked him off. Imo, the horse rider has no reason to be indignant, especially if the car driver went out of their way to make it as safe as possible for the rider. Horse rider in this case was acting as if everyone should accelerate at the slowest possible rate, practically crawling a gap open between the horse behind, to avoid scaring the daft animal. Talk about ridiculous. If you've got a car loud enough to scare a horse, or a horse skittish enough to get scared in the first place then accelerating slowly or quickly is going to scare it, and the horse should not be taken on the road. A car with a straight through exhaust is going to be howling away, popping and banging off into the distance no matter how the driver accelerates off down the road, and unfortunately it's just going to have to be tough if the horse rider gets their feelings hurt. The ivory tower attitudes of these horse riders is frankly ridiculous at times.
And if motorists can't share the roads without alarming a ton of meat that has used the roads for hundreds of years into becoming a hazard then perhaps that motorist shouldn't be on the roads either.
Goodness me, I use rural roads every day and horse riders slowing the traffic flow is rarely an issue for more than a few moments. I see motorists who clearly have never been on a horse and have little to no understanding of horses driving inconsiderately very regularly. Maybe it's a reflection of how within my lifetime horses have become less and less ordinary to the increasingly urban populace.
Goodness me, I use rural roads every day and horse riders slowing the traffic flow is rarely an issue for more than a few moments. I see motorists who clearly have never been on a horse and have little to no understanding of horses driving inconsiderately very regularly. Maybe it's a reflection of how within my lifetime horses have become less and less ordinary to the increasingly urban populace.
Mastodon2 said:
I can understand why a motorist would get annoyed by these jackets, which are clearly meant to imitate those of police riders - a potentially safe overtake such as overtaking at 60, moving right over towards the edge of the other side of the road and passing without slowing, putting a huge gap between the car and horse, might be missed because the driver is scared into slowing to the riders pace until they are close enough to read it and realise it's not actually a police horse. Rather than letting drivers get safely on with their business, they are trying to drag everyone down to their level in some misguided attempt to foster safety; the irritation of annoyed drivers is all the more likely to cause them to seek the next overtake in riskier fashion.
I know a guy who is right into his horseriding (yes, he is a gay, before anyone asks) who was complaining about someone moving slowly around him on his horse on the road, pulling back in front of him at an admittedly safe distance, and then accelerating briskly off down the road, the sound of which spooked the horse which then bucked him off. Imo, the horse rider has no reason to be indignant, especially if the car driver went out of their way to make it as safe as possible for the rider. Horse rider in this case was acting as if everyone should accelerate at the slowest possible rate, practically crawling a gap open between the horse behind, to avoid scaring the daft animal. Talk about ridiculous. If you've got a car loud enough to scare a horse, or a horse skittish enough to get scared in the first place then accelerating slowly or quickly is going to scare it, and the horse should not be taken on the road. A car with a straight through exhaust is going to be howling away, popping and banging off into the distance no matter how the driver accelerates off down the road, and unfortunately it's just going to have to be tough if the horse rider gets their feelings hurt. The ivory tower attitudes of these horse riders is frankly ridiculous at times.
Animals tend to not like surprises, especially those including sudden and unexpected noises. It's not difficult to accelerate away (even in a noisy car) consistently, rather than passing the horse slowly, getting past, then accelerating briskly. There's no need to, and the potential detriment to the horse rider in doing so is far greater than to the driver in not.I know a guy who is right into his horseriding (yes, he is a gay, before anyone asks) who was complaining about someone moving slowly around him on his horse on the road, pulling back in front of him at an admittedly safe distance, and then accelerating briskly off down the road, the sound of which spooked the horse which then bucked him off. Imo, the horse rider has no reason to be indignant, especially if the car driver went out of their way to make it as safe as possible for the rider. Horse rider in this case was acting as if everyone should accelerate at the slowest possible rate, practically crawling a gap open between the horse behind, to avoid scaring the daft animal. Talk about ridiculous. If you've got a car loud enough to scare a horse, or a horse skittish enough to get scared in the first place then accelerating slowly or quickly is going to scare it, and the horse should not be taken on the road. A car with a straight through exhaust is going to be howling away, popping and banging off into the distance no matter how the driver accelerates off down the road, and unfortunately it's just going to have to be tough if the horse rider gets their feelings hurt. The ivory tower attitudes of these horse riders is frankly ridiculous at times.
Like it or not, Pedestrians, Cyclists, Horse Riders, Domesticated Farm Animals, Tractors and on and on share a right to use the road network. There are far less road users in these groups, even as a cumulative, then motor vehicle drivers and, seeming they do not have benefit of the passive or active safety features associated with such vehicles, they deserve special protections from them.
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