The government says there already is legislation in place, and it has no plans to change anything. Photo: ANDOR BUJDOSO / 123RF
A woman whose childhood memories were wiped out in a horsing accident 15 years ago wants the law changed to recognise horse riders as vulnerable road users.
But the government says there already is legislation in place, and guidance is in the Road Code, so has no plans to change anything.
Julia McLean, spokesperson for the New Zealand Equestrian Advocacy Network and founder of the Canterbury Equestrian Advocacy Group, told RNZ Nights horse riders were considered 'other' road users, not vulnerable, so did not feature in road safety messaging and education.
"We also don't even feature in the theory testing and the practical testing for licensing anymore. So you've really got a dumbed-down network of drivers that don't know how to approach and pass a horse, and in my mind that makes us the most vulnerable road users on the network.
"And to be frank, we don't even really want to be riding on the roads. But for some people, they don't have an option - and for others, it's a means of getting from A to B, and irrespective of any argument, we have a legitimate right to be on the road. So we have a right to be protected, I would have thought."
Before her accident, McLean was a broadcast journalist.
"I was 26 years old at the time and I thought, you know, hey, I've got a stable job. I'm going to try and get back into riding. I'd ridden since the age of seven until I was a teenager and, you know, started to focus on a career. "So, yeah, I bought a horse."
A campaign has been launched for a law change to changed to recognise horse riders as vulnerable road users. Photo: Supplied
She had noticed the lack of protection for horse riders, and had been in touch with the council about cars driving past at 100km/h without slowing down.
One day she was found unconscious after her horse got spooked, bolted and slipped.
"I slid down his back and my head hit the road. And yeah, I was six days in an induced coma… I lost my smell and taste, and I lost all my education and my childhood memories.
"For me, life started again from that moment and my career as a broadcast journalist came to an end."
She gave up riding for several years, understandably, but a few years ago decided to give it another go - and was surprised to find little guidance for other road users around animals, or infrastructure for horse riders.
"There's a trail being built in Timaru down to Twizel and they call it inclusive, but it's only for walkers and cyclists, and it's a big infrastructure to be built using ratepayer dollars, tax dollars and public money. And in our mind, we're saying, 'Please can we be included?' But we just get shut out."
The message she wanted to get out was to "pass wide and pass slow" when encountering horse riders on the road.
"It's a great message, don't you think? I mean, it's pretty, pretty easy -pass wide, pass slow, at least two metres in width. Give us space. We're managing an animal that has a mind of its own… No horn ,thanks. No winding down your windows and abusing us, thanks."
McLean said the campaign was necessary until the government updated the law to give horse riders more protections. She also called on the police to "lift their game" when it came to tackling dangerous driving.
"While we wait for legislative change, you know, we can be doing our bit to educate motorists and what we need from them."
But the Ministry of Transport told RNZ while it acknowledged McLean's concerns, "there are already protections for horse riders in current legislation and the ministry does not plan to change rules around horse riders at this".
"Rules around exercising care to road users, including horse riders, are outlined in the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004. In addition, there are penalties for a road user failing to exercise due care towards ridden and driven animals.
"The ministry urges and reminds motorists to follow the rules and take extra care when sharing the road with horse riders."
It noted the New Zealand Transport Agency had guidance for motorists in its Road Code, as well as safety tips for horse riders.
"The minister of transport recently announced his initial priorities for the land transport system through the Government Policy Statement on land transport 2024, and will announce his objectives for road safety later this year.
McLean planned to hand her petition - which had almost 5000 signatures on 5 September - for stronger laws over to Parliament on 15 October.
