Three years after the Highway Code brought in new measures to protect vulnerable road users, this week the The British Horse Society (BHS) has released its 2024 road incident figures.
Despite the updated 2021 guidance giving better and more comprehensive advice to road users in regards to passing horses, the latest figures show that 58 horses and ponies were killed on Britain’s roads last year.
In total, 3,118 incidents were reported to the BHS, including 80 human and 97 equine injuries. Although these figures are lower than that of 2023, this takes the total number of recorded road incidents since November 2010 to 18,683, causing 47 human and 697 equine deaths, and 1,782 human and 1,625 equine injuries.
In the updated Highway Code, which came into force in 2022, drivers are urged to pass horses no faster than 10mph and leaving at least two metres space. But 81% of the reported incidents involved drivers who did not adhere to this guidance.
It is therefore clear that more needs to be done to educate and encourage road users to adhere to the guidance and reduce the risks of such incidents in the future.
To report an incident, visit the BHS website