Abstract
Simple SummaryThe risk posed by traffic likely impacts equestrians’ decisions around road use, potentially limiting or preventing exercise sessions. This study identifies how frequently equestrians use roads and what impacts their ability to do so. Over 6000 UK equestrians completed an online questionnaire about their exercise behaviours, road use and experiences of road-related incidents. Most equestrians use roads regularly. In the previous year, 68% of equestrians experienced a near-miss and 6% an injury-causing incident. Our results found that regional differences in road use and near-miss experiences coincided with off-road route availability. Road use was associated with the proximity of off-road routes, and road-using equestrians covered longer distances. Near-misses were associated with increasing frequency of weekly road use. Younger equestrians were more likely to use roads, but also to experience near-misses. Injury-causing incidents were associated with increasing road-use anxiety or ceasing to use roads (due to strong feelings of danger, compromised safety and conflict with other road users), the proximity of off-road routes, having a near-miss and riding while leading a ridden horse; often a child. Targeted campaigns encouraging responsible road use, better off-road access and inclusion of equestrians in planning and development initiatives would create safer equestrian spaces, particularly for young people.Real or perceived traffic risk is a significant barrier to walking and cycling. To understand whether similar barriers influence equestrians, this study obtained exercise behaviours, road use and experiences of road-related incidents from UK equestrians (n = 6390) via an online questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with road use and experiencing a near-miss or injury-causing incident in the previous year. Content analysis identified themes around equestrians’ decisions not to use roads. Our results show that most equestrians (84%) use roads at least once weekly, and in the previous year, 67.7% had a near-miss and 6.1% an injury-causing incident. Road use differs regionally, with exercise type and off-road route availability. Road-using equestrians covered greater daily distances and were younger. However, younger equestrians were at higher risk of near-misses. Respondents’ decisions not to use roads were based on individualised risk assessments arising from: the road itself, perceptions of other road users, the individual horse and the handler’s own emotional management. Roads were perceived as extremely dangerous places with potentially high conflict risk. Injury-causing incidents were associated with increasing road-use anxiety or ceasing to use roads, the proximity of off-road routes, having a near-miss and type of road use. Targeted road-safety campaigns and improved off-road access would create safer equestrian spaces.
Highlights
Horse-related road incidents in the United Kingdom (UK) are common; 60.3% of equestrians surveyed in the UK (n = 257/426) reported having a near-miss on the road in the previous year [1]
Sixty-three questionnaires were from participants who did not own, loan or share a horse, 199 were from participants residing outside of the UK, and 311 were only partially completed
It is potentially more difficult to control two horses when things go wrong compared to when one person is on foot, which can contribute to dangerous interactions with other road users. These findings strongly suggest that it is not the occasional, inexperienced equestrian road user that is more likely to experience a dangerous near-miss situation but, rather, near-misses are more dependent on the frequency of road use, time spent on roads, availability of alternative off-road options and that younger, but not necessarily less experienced, equestrians were at highest risk
Summary
Horse-related road incidents in the United Kingdom (UK) are common; 60.3% of equestrians surveyed in the UK (n = 257/426) reported having a near-miss on the road in the previous year [1]. Equestrians surveyed in Devon (n = 1976), a county in the South West region of England, report that 79.1% had experienced a near-miss, 15.6% a collision with a vehicle, and 7.7% had sustained an injury when using roads with their horses [2]. The severity of injury to a horse in a road-related incident was associated with significant injury to the equestrian; a fatal injury to a horse was almost 12 times as likely to result in severe to fatal injury to the equestrian. To better understand the impact that road safety has on equestrians, it is important to identify how frequently they use roads and what affects their ability to do so
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