NZ Transport Agency


This is what the Offical New Zealand Road Code (produced by the NZ Transport Agency) has to say about people riding horses on the road:

"Sharing The Road With Horse Riders

Please show courtesy when sharing the road with horse traffic. Horses can take fright easily, so adjust your driving as soon as you see horses on the road ahead of you.

Safe driving near horses:
  • Slow down and pass carefully, giving the horse and rider plenty of room.
  • Don't sound your horn, rev your engine or pass at speed, as this could frighten the horse.
  • If the horse and rider are on a bridge or narrow road, be very careful – slow down or stop.
  • If the horse appears frightened, stop.
  • At night, dip your headlights when approaching a horse.
  • Two vehicles should avoid passing near a horse.

Important! Be careful around horse traffic. If you aren't, you could be charged with careless or dangerous driving."


"Information For Horse Riders

As a horse rider, it's important that you follow the road rules shown below. They will help ensure your safety when you are riding on the road.

Safety rules for horse riders:
  • Always wear a safety hat while riding. Otherwise, a fall from your horse could result in a head injury. 
  • Ride your horse on the left-hand side of the road and as far to the left as possible. 
  • Keep your horse on the side of the road whenever you can, but don't ride on footpaths, lawns or gardens.
  • Don't ride more than two abreast. 
  • Don't ride on the right of any moving vehicle. 
  • If you're leading another animal while riding, always keep it on your left, away from the traffic. 
  • If you're riding a horse or leading animals at night, wear reflective clothing and carry a torch. 

Horse-drawn vehicles:
  • At night, vehicles drawn by horses must have a white light on the front right of the vehicle or load and have a red light shining to the rear. They must not have a red light on the front at night."



Other interesting titbits from the NZTA website:

  • "Output Measures – Media space purchased and delivered, eg target audience rating points (TARPs) delivered, website visits, offence notices issues and magazine readership
  • Intermediate Outcomes – Audience recall and relevance, key public attitudes to road safety, eg speed, drink-driving etc
  • Behavioural Outcomes – Reduced speeds, reduced drink-driving etc
  • Overall Outcomes – Reduced road deaths and injuries"

https://www.nzta.govt.nz/safety/our-advertising/frequently-asked-questions/

"The campaign encourages road users to be courteous to each other and acknowledge that they’re not the only one on the road. To achieve this, our campaign is designed to personalise and humanise people cycling so that motorists see them as real people who have a right to share the road safely. We want drivers to see the person not simply the bike."


From the NZTA's summary of the national road deaths data PDF

http://www.transport.govt.nz/research/crashfacts/


By looking through the NZTA website it really became apparent to me how little (read: none!) information/statistics on horse riders being involved in traffic accidents there is. I know that these sorts of accidents are definitely occurring as I have heard of many through the horse rider grapevine and I even have had people I know be involved in terrible road-riding accidents, but these are obviously not being recorded and compiled which is perhaps why the issue isn''t really being addressed. Also, the road code is quite ambiguous in it's instructions for how drivers should deal with an encounter with a horse and rider on the road; "Slow down" and "Pass Wide" are too vague for people who might not have any 'stock sense' or experience with these sorts of animals, people should be provided with an exact speed limit and exact distance which perhaps needs to be enforced with penalties.