How to safely overtake a horse on the road: Highway Code guidance for passing animals explained

The British Horse Society says drivers are still passing too close and too fast to horses - here's what the Highway Code says
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Campaigners have called for better driver education around passing horses safely on the road after the latest figures showed almost 70 animals died in traffic accidents last year.

The British Horse Society said that more than a year after specific guidance was added to the Highway Code to help motorists drive correctly around horses, it was still hearing regular reports from riders whose horses had been frightened, injured or killed by vehicles passing too closely or too quickly. 

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Last year’s updates to the Highway Code included a new hierarchy of road users, which put more responsibility on those who could cause the most potential harm, making drivers explicitly responsible for behaving carefully around more vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders. 

The changes also introduced formal guidelines on safe speeds, distances and behaviour when overtaking a horse, but the BHS says that most drivers still don’t know the rules and last year riders reported more than 3,500 incidents on British roads, ranging from verbal abuse to collisions. 

According to its figures, 68 horses were killed and 125 injured in road incidents in 2022, along with 139 riders injured. The BHS’s director of safety Alan Hiscox told BBC breakfast: “Eighty per cent of those incidents were because vehicles are passing too fast or too close to horses.”

He said incidents of vehicles, including trucks, passing within inches of horses and at high speeds were why the BHS had campaigned to have the Highway Code guidance updated but said it had so far had little impact. 

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Nearly 18 months after the HC introduced these changes we found that 4 out of 5 drivers do not know the specific changes that came in regarding equestrians,” he said. “One of the issues is that drivers are just unaware of how to pass horses safely, that’s why  with our Dead Slow campaign we’re trying to inform, involve and persuade drivers.”

The Dead Slow campaign works to inform drivers of the risks of passing too close or too fast and educate them on the correct approach. Its advice forms the basis of the guidance in the new Highway Code and includes the following advice for drivers and riders:

Drivers

  • Slow down to a maximum of 10mph and be ready to stop if necessary
  • Look out for riders’ hand signals to slow down or stop
  • Be patient - do not sound your horn or rev the engine
  • Overtake only when it is safe to do so, ensuring that you leave at least two metres between your vehicle and the horse
  • Drive away smoothly and don’t rev your engine

Riders

  • Always display fluorescent/reflective clothing on both horse and rider, whatever the weather or light conditions
  • Avoid icy or snowy roads
  • Never take a mounted group of more than eight horses on the road
  • Always ride on the left - if riding two abreast, move into single file as soon as it is safe for the motorist to overtake. Don't ride more than two abreast on the road
  • Always cross major crossings in a group, rather than trickling across one by one

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.