Horse-drawn Vehicles Research Articles

International aspects of the road tradition (Russia, XVII–XIX centuries)

Introduction. Russian government in the 17th–19th centuries had to maintain control over vast and sparsely populated territories. Modern historians, specialists in Russia, should take into account its specifics and specifically the state of the roads along which horse-drawn vehicles were moving. Investigating the road infrastructure of Russia one can imagine the conditions and circumstances in which the state and society functioned.Materials and methods. This paper explores one of the aspects of the so-called road tradition of Russia – the manifestation of international relations in the context of road traffic. The study of the road tradition is linked to the anthropological approach that historians increasingly use in their works. The paper is based on a variety of narrative sources including fiction and journalistic texts.Results. Russia is not only the largest country in the world, but also one of the most multi-ethnic. A road often became the place where cultural and historical differences were revealed, as well as inter-confessional and inter-ethnic relations. Different types of international relations are studying in this paper: joking; attention to "alien"; interaction of local people with foreigners in the Russian territory; explicit conflicts.Conclusion. It is concluded that a road was dangerous and unpredictable place, and therefore there were often quarrels and conflicts during the traffic. The causes of these quarrels and conflicts have been brewing for a long time, and the reasons could be insignificant.

An Assessment of Horse-Drawn Vehicle Incidents from U.S. News Media Reports within AgInjuryNews

Some old-order Anabaptist communities rely on animal-drawn vehicles for transportation and farm work. This research examines reports involving horse-drawn vehicles found in the AgInjuryNews dataset, which provides a publicly accessible collection of agricultural injury reports primarily gathered from news media. The goals of this research are to characterize the reports and to compare results with previous research to assess the utility of using AgInjuryNews to examine horse-drawn vehicle incidents. A total of 38 reports representing 83 victims were identified. Chi-square tests comparing victim and incident traits for fatal and nonfatal injuries were significant for the victim’s role in the incident, vehicle type, presence of a motor vehicle, rear-ending by a motor vehicle, spooked horses, a victim being run over or struck by a vehicle, and a victim being ejected or falling from a vehicle. Additional analysis of incidents involving horse-drawn farm equipment showed that a significantly higher proportion of off-road incidents were fatal compared to on-road incidents. The proportion of fatal injuries in the AgInjuryNews dataset was approximately 10 times higher than observed in a study using Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (DOT) data. Compared to previous research, the AgInjuryNews reports contained a higher proportion of incidents where a motor vehicle rear-ended a horse-drawn vehicle, and fewer cases of horse-drawn vehicles being struck by motor vehicles while crossing or entering a main road and making left turns. Reports of buggy crashes found in AgInjuryNews differed from those found in a Nexis Uni search in that the bulk of the articles from Nexis Uni referred to cases involving criminal charges for impaired driving or hit-and-run crashes. While it is evident that the reports included in the sample are incidents that media sources find compelling rather than comprehensive injury surveillance, it is possible to gain new insights using the AgInjuryNews reports.

Cocaine: From Coca Fields to the Streets ed. by Enrique Desmond Arias, and Thomas Grisaffi

Reviewed by: Cocaine: From Coca Fields to the Streets ed. by Enrique Desmond Arias, and Thomas Grisaffi Jane Rausch, Emerita Arias, Enrique Desmond, and Thomas Grisaffi, eds. Cocaine: From Coca Fields to the Streets. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2021. Bookended by editor Enrique Desmond Arias's introduction and conclusion, this volume is a collection of eleven essays written by scholars who participated in a series of panels at a Latin American Studies Association (LASA) Congress in 2016 to discuss the effects of drug trafficking in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Colombia, Bolivia, and Brazil. Setting their observations within the framework of moral economy, these researchers acknowledge the effect of global drug markets on the nations they examined, and they show how [End Page 225] drug trafficking has developed via a complex process of self-regulation in the shadow of a state power that formally seeks to destroy it. They review the interconnection between sites along cocaine's global supply chain; the implications of those interconnections for social, political, and economic experiences in places affected by the trade; and, conversely, how those interconnections affect the cocaine trade (3). Taken collectively, these essays demonstrate that entire ways of life are built around cocaine commodification and show how state authority is coupled with the self-regulating practices of drug producers, traffickers, and dealers. Their authors also suggest more progressive policies that acknowledge the important role drugs play in the lives of individuals at the urban and rural margins. Since the essays are all high quality, a brief comparison of just two of them will provide an idea of their collective value. In her article, "Drug Crops, Twisted Motorcycles, and Cultural Loss in Indigenous Colombia," Autumn Zellers-Leon notes that Colombian Law 30 of 1986 allows indigenous people to grow up to thirty coca plants for local traditional use and exchange, yet these farmers are also active participants in the illegal drug trade that began in the 1970s. Although the drugs they produce make up a crucial part of the drug commodity chain, they receive only 2 percent of the profits. Nevertheless, Zellers-Leon notes that rather than disrupt the traditional economy, the drug trade has promoted development of a cash-based economy in rural areas that has helped indigenous families meet their basic needs. One of the most basic changes has been the abandonment of horse-drawn vehicles for motorcycles. Drug gangs introduced these probably stolen motorcycles and then dumped them in remote places such as rural Cauca. Their presence promoted road building and the expansion of municipal town centers, but they also contributed to the breakdown of traditional community values. In this one example, indigenous families' increasing dependence on global commodities challenges their identity models rooted in past lifeways. In fact, many of Cauca's indigenous communities could not sustain themselves today without the availability of motorcycles for transport. Thus, in this way, the drug trade has helped to mitigate the effects of class inequalities in rural indigenous regions. Zeilers-Leon concludes that to resolve the situation, the state must prioritize the needs of indigenous farmers in both long-term agricultural development projects and policies that favor indigenous agricultural goods (114). [End Page 226] By contrast, Taniele Rui's essay compares drug consumption between 1990 and 2017 in two of Brazil's largest cities—São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Her case studies reveal that the illegal drug trade produces and regulates user scenes in both cities, but in different ways. In São Paulo, a single criminal faction manages conflicts that the trade generates, and illicit markets are not necessarily violent. Drug users concentrate in the downtown area, and the government's repressive efforts to repress drug use have not only increased the number of crack users in prison but also strengthen the criminal organization by providing new recruits. In Rio de Janeiro, state policies have displaced drug users to different parts of the city. This strategy has encouraged activities by illegally armed actors in the favelas and hides the problem from the view of tourists who do not see the consumption sites. Rui concludes that since the crack trade is not the same everywhere in Brazil and does...

Coaches, Sleighs, and Speed in the Street: “Vehicularization” in Early Modern Amsterdam

Throughout urban Europe, the introduction and presence of vehicles in the city caused tensions of safety and scarcity of space. This article discusses the vehicle culture of early modern Amsterdam, where vehicles and their users had no undisputed right to the streets. The current view in the historiography is that regulations that tried to curb wheeled horse-drawn vehicles were ineffective and that the streets rapidly became a vehicular space from the seventeenth century onward. This narrative is reconsidered by differentiating by vehicle type and location within the city. Specific parts of the city formed distinct vehicular spaces, and draft horses carrying sleighs formed an underestimated but important part of early modern street life. This difference between wheeled and non-wheeled vehicles is explored through new empirical observations from notarial attestations, and additional attention is paid to the role of vehicle speed and the gendered nature of early modern vehicle culture.

The outline of the history of automobile traffic in the early twentieth century in Sumy.

The purpose of the publication is to reveal the essence of automobile movement in Sumy as a social cause, to describe its main tendencies and indicate the role of individuals in the development of local motorism. The topicality of the research is preconditioned by the lack of scientific investigation on this topic, as well as the need to supplement the general picture of the development of motorism in the Russian Empire. Various aspects of automobile traffic in Sumy have been considered (the concept of “automobile movement” is indicated in the meaning of a social phenomenon): auto trade, auto repair, the introduction of local traffic rules, automobile accidents, the formation of a stratum of drivers and car owners, their participation in races and rallies. In particular, the businesses of the owner of the first car dealership in Sumy Kaidansky and his competitor Poguliaichenko are mentioned as well as the existence of the Gerenshtein-Yankovsky auto repair shop. The main traffic rules adopted by the Sumy City Duma in 1908 are specified. On the basis of reports of the local press, typical traffic violations with the participation of cars are analyzed: crashes with horse-drawn vehicles, speeding, drunk driving, cutting in buildings and pedestrians. Special attention is paid to the public organization of motorists – Sumy Automobile Club established in 1912. In particular, the main provisions of the club’s statute, the rights and obligations of its participants have been analyzed. The names of some of its members have been specified. The activity of the organization and its place in the all-Russian automobile traffic have been assessed. The role of Sumy passionaries of motorism – entrepreneurs Ivan Leshchinsky and Eduard Kaidansky is emphasized. In particular, their participation in races and runs is mentioned. At the same time, the Moscow – Berlin – Paris rally where the Kaidansky team took part on a Mitchell car is covered more widely. Also, the brands of cars of Leshchinsky’s garage are named and the preferences for the cars of the sugar producer Pavel Kharitonenko are revealed. The appearance of departmental cars at the Sumy district administration is analyzed, the need for their use in the economic needs of the local government is determined. The duties of the zemstvo in the use of transport to the military department are clarified. The names of some of the chauffeurs who worked for private individuals and in the zemstvo are identified.

Generation of a Historical Weapon Ge and Its Impacts on Huaxia Culture

The history of Huaxia (Chinese: , a historical concept representing the Chinese nation and civi-lization) is full of wars. Various weapons were developed that are suitable for ground combat with horse-drawn vehicles. The weapon Ge (Chinese: ) was already used before 221 BC (before the Qin Dynasty, ca. 221–206 BC), and disappeared in around 25 AD (at the end of Western Han Dynasty). In most other regions in the world, this type of weapon has hardly been used. The weapon axe was used in the ancient wars (in the same period) outside Ancient China (also called the Middle King-dom), such as in Mesopotamia (the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system). However, the weapon axe is different from Ge, although there seem some similarities. This article provides an in-depth study and analysis of the reasons for the historic use of this unique weapon Ge, of its development in Ancient China, and of its influence on (military and civil) culture.

London cabs, Wilkie Collins and The Woman in White

For all its industrial and technological heat, Victorian Britain remained a largely horse-drawn society. Focusing on the use of horse-drawn vehicles in Wilkie Collins’ 1860 novel The Woman in White, this essay explores representations of city space, intra-urban mobility, connectivity and public transport in popular nineteenth-century fiction. Cabs, I argue, represent intriguing and paradoxical spaces, poised between public and private, continually on the move in the static city. I ask how literary figurations of horse cabs focus and negotiate anxieties associated with travel within Victorian cities. I also suggest that cabs – vehicles for the fast and disreputable – articulate new ways of occupying space.

KONKĖ: THE FIRST PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN VILNIUS

The first public rail transport in the world started functioning in 1820. Like everywhere at that time, horsedrawn coaches heaved on tracks were the most popular. The first horse-drawn tram started carrying passengers in the industrial region of Wales, England. Starting from 1893, three the so called konkė lines of such a tram started operating in Vilnius. Although the ticket was expensive to the city residents of those days, however, they intensively used this kind of transport: in 1909, 2.6 million passengers were transported. Although attempts to replace horse drawn-vehicles by internal combustion engines after the First World War were made, this form of transport was found to be irrational and soon gave the way to buses. Initiative for the trams equipped with electric motors was shortly defeated in Vilnius: lack of funds was felt, and confusion in the administration of the city was predominating. For the period 1915–1920, the local government changed very frequently. In 1926, konkė tracks were dismantled. Its remains still can be seen at the enclosures of the embankment of the Vilnia (Vilnios upė) confluence. The coaches were sold for suburban residents that erected small cattle-sheds for domestic animals.

Deus Ex Machina: Technological Experience as a Cognitive Resource in Bronze Age Conceptualizations of Astronomical Phenomena

Mental recruitment of previous technological experience in conceptualizations of non-technological phenomena constitutes a specific kind of unintended cognitive effect of human technological activity. This paper discusses particular conceptual takes on a significant epistemic challenge faced by people in the Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean: that of understanding the factors and dynamics governing and allowing the most important celestial body (the sun) to travel across the sky during the day. Textual sources, iconography and artefactual evidence in combination provide an outline of concrete conceptual solutions to this challenge, which centre oncharioteering, i.e., the employment of light, horse-drawn vehicles for high-speed transport. These sources also inform on the actual, practical role played by this technological genre in the context of the eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age. The paper specifies a connection between the actual, mundane and social role of this form of vehicular technology in Bronze Age society, and the conceptualizations of an astronomical phenomenon to which it is recruited. This provides a specific case demonstrating how aspects of concrete, sensorimotor experience of technological activities, here the dynamics of vehicular transport, may ground associative conceptualization of empirically ill-specified phenomena. This, in turn, provides support for the general observation that the conceptual repertoires of individuals and collectives in particular historical contexts are influenced substantially by the experiential spectra associated with the specific ways of life into which they are born.

Case Study: Historic Alexandria: The Next Fifty Years

The Alexandria, Virginia, historic district has been considered one of the best national examples of the application of historic preservation principles to guide development of a city while preserving historic resources. A superficial examination finds a town rich in historic resources, ranging from the eighteenth century to the twentieth, that has grown and changed while keeping appropriate scale and massing. However, after a critical look at a variety of planning issues, one finds that the legacy of preservation has been mixed. With ever-increasing impact over the last fifty years, development in the core of the city has been managed primarily through preservation controls. One of the results is a cap on the height of buildings and a resulting uniformity of design. These limits may inhibit both future growth and the flexibility to incorporate changes in transportation, parking, and building technology. Looking ahead, these issues will have to be faced as public funding and resources diminish and support for historic preservation research and documentation dwindles.I write this essay as a preservation architect who has worked in Alexandria and scores of other historic districts across the Mid-Atlantic region.1 It is based on my experience and observations since the early 1970s. After providing historical background on the development of Alexandria's historic district, I present an assessment of the long-term impacts of historic district controls-which have, as I will argue, effectively replaced zoning. I examine what this implies for the future of the city, including economic viability/stability, social justice, and sustainability.The Historic Core: Urban Development and PreservationAlexandria is an incorporated city with a population of just over 146,300 and a land area of 15.4 square miles.2 There are about 60,000 households according to the last census. The original town was founded in 1749 on the Potomac River; along with Georgetown to the north, it thrived as a regional port town through the eighteenth century (Fig. 1). Like other cities, particularly on the East Coast, the urban core of Alexandria was shaped by natural and man-made boundaries: the Potomac River, to the south, Hunting Creek, and the west with the railroad (Fig. 2) (This differs markedly from cities in the Midwest and West, where physical boundaries have rarely existed and therefore, physical growth has not been contained.) This original core area of Alexandria is now called Town, and reached an area about one and a half miles long and one mile wide. Since its foundation, Old Town has grown in a westward direction, away from the Potomac. Through the early twentieth century, the growth extended well beyond the original town footprint with the annexation of land from the neighboring two counties, Fairfax and Arlington. By 1935, Alexandria had generally reached its current footprint.3This westward development can also be linked to modes of transportation. For most of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the town was compact and focused on the seaport; walking and horse-drawn vehicles were the forms of transport. With the introduction of the railroad and later the Civil War, a western edge for the city was formed by the railroad right-of-way. The railroad also created incursions directly into the core of the town, to facilitate movement of goods to and from the port. With automobile use in the early twentieth century, major north-south and east-west highways were developed that both expanded the town greatly and caused commercial development to move west from the former seaport. After the introduction of the METRO subway system in 1983, commercial development again moved further west to be adjacent to the two METRO stations.Although there were isolated preservation efforts in the early twentieth century, in 1946 Alexandria City Council established the and Historic Alexandria District (OHAD) to recognize the historic core of the city. …

Characteristics and welfare of horses used for transportation in northeast Ohio

This study sought to characterize factors influencing travel speed and document welfare and safety concerns of horses used primarily for transportation. Horse-drawn vehicles and riders (n = 306) were observed at 8 locations, representing 3 communities in northeast Ohio. Environmental conditions, gait characteristics, and driver or rider factors were recorded. Travel speed was correlated with slope (P < 0.01), community (P < 0.001), heat index (P < 0.05), gait (P < 0.001), and lameness grade, based on American Association of Equine Practitioners 0-to-5 scale (P < 0.05). Horses traveled slower uphill (slope >1.0), during periods when the heat index (temperature and humidity) was greater than 25°C, and when exhibiting a grade-3 lameness. There was a trend (P = 0.10) for double hitches to travel slower than single hitches. Wagons (4.63 ± 0.25 m/s) traveled slower (P < 0.01) than covered buggies (5.00 ± 0.10 m/s), which traveled slower (P < 0.05) than open buggies (5.35 ± 0.13 m/s). Pacing accounted for 2.6% of the observations, whereas 92.8% of the horses trotted, although speeds were similar. Grade-3 lameness occurred in 4.1% of the horses, which slowed (P < 0.05) travel speed to 4.23 ± 0.35 m/s compared with nonlame horses (5.07 ± 0.07 m/s). Youth drivers were most likely to drive lame horses. Display of slow-moving-vehicle signage varied by community from 41.3 to 94.6%. In this study, lameness was minimal, BCS were acceptable, and appropriate animal welfare allowances were observed for varied environmental conditions.

Copal Varnishes Used on 18th- and 19th-century Carriages

This paper provides a historical review of copal varnishes used for horse-drawn vehicles. The resin sources are identified in the context of modern botanical taxonomy and their chemistry is reviewed. Important developments in the manufacture of such varnishes are discussed, such as the discovery of new copal sources and advances in the techniques for boiling the drying oils. Information from the more accurate sources in the historical literature is supplemented with unpublished archival records of two important manufacturers, the activities of each of which spanned the 19th century: C. Schrack & Co. of Philadelphia, and Joseph Mason & Co. of Derby, United Kingdom. Issues of concern in the conservation of copal varnishes are addressed, notably the difficulties posed to the conservator by their historic use as a medium for glaze paints and their wide solubility parameters.

The Royal Danish Stables and the 2007 Carriage Auction

EIGHT CARRIAGES, a sleigh and miscellaneous carriage accoutrements from the Royal Danish Stables were sold at auction at the Mews of Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen on 24 November 2007. The highest price was fetched by a black landau built in Russia and ornamented with the crowned royal arms of Denmark encircled by the Chain and Order of the Elephant. Five of the carriages three coupes, a landaulet and a milord were by the noted Copenhagen carriage maker, Henry Fife. The sleigh was a two-seater in the shape of a sea-shell and equipped with a snow shield. The Danish court continued to travel regularly by horse-drawn conveyance until the year 1912. Born in 1818, King Christian IX (reigned 1863-1906) rode in an automobile only once in his lifetime. This occurred in the vicinity of Frankfurt am Main on 26 July 1904, when the King rode with the director of the Adlerwerke factory at the wheel and his own Physician in Ordinary safely at his side.1 It was not a pleasant experience. Thereafter and until the death of his successor, the Danish court, when travelling on the highway, used horse-drawn vehicles or rode on horseback. Many carriages were required. Whenever the Queen left the palace, ladies-inwaiting followed in a carriage of their own. The royal family was active, and there were often visitors who needed a carriage as well as horses and coachmen, not least during family gatherings at the summer residence of Fredensborg Castle, north of Copenhagen. The six children of King Christian IX and Queen Louise were Queen Alexandra of Britain, Empress Dagmar of Russia, King Frederik VIII of Denmark, King George I of the Hellenes, the Duchess of Cumberland and Prince Valdemar of Denmark, who married Princess Marie of Orleans.2 The gigantic, high-spirited Tsar Alexander III relished the informality of these occasions as a relief from Russian court ceremony, and the children adored him. At the

Farm-Related Injuries Among Old Order Anabaptist Children: Developing a Baseline from Which to Formulate and Assess Future Prevention Strategies

ABSTRACT Old Order Anabaptists are a religiously based North American subculture that is often identified with simple lifestyles, limited reliance on modern technologies, and unique farming methods, including dependence upon horse-drawn vehicles and farm equipment. Members of this group generally have large numbers of children and begin involving them in work around the home or farm at an early age. Children are called upon to participate in a wide range of activities that most farm children are no longer exposed to due to the adoption of modern technologies and changing roles of children in contemporary society. Preliminary research suggested that farm-related injuries and fatalities may be an increasing problem among Old Order Anabaptist children, thus posing the need for a better understanding of causative factors, which could then contribute to the design of more effective intervention strategies. This present study employed a national injury surveillance process to expand Purdue University's Old Order Anabaptist Injury Database in order to develop a baseline of Old Order child-related farm injury information for the year 2002 and then analyzed that data in reference to specific underlying factors. From the expanded database, 217 farm-related injuries to children under the age of 18 from 14 states and Canada were identified as having occurred during the year 2002. The most common primary source of injury was falls, and the most common nature of injury was bone fractures. The age of victim most commonly reported was 14, with the peaks in injuries occurring at ages 3–4 and 13–15. Culture-specific factors played a role in many of the incidents, the main ones being direct animal contact, hay-hole falls, and horse-drawn equipment runovers. Fourteen of the 217 recorded injuries resulted in fatalities, of which 6 were attributed to equipment runovers and the rest to a crush or pin, a fall, being struck by an object, direct animal contact, or engulfment in feed/grain. Animal behavior was cited as the secondary source of injury in 6 of the fatality cases. Based upon the findings of this study, a body of recommendations was developed for formulating culturally sensitive childhood injury prevention strategies in Old Order communities for use by parents, Old Order parochial school teachers, employers, extension educators, health workers, and others. Those recommendations focus specifically on resources and actions for each group involved as well as on possible topics for further research. The baseline data also provides a means to assess the impact of future injury prevention efforts targeting the Old Order population.

Recording and Interpreting Moffreys

Moffreys were vehicles used as two-wheeled carts for heavy, winter loads such as manure, but were converted for light, harvest loads of hay or corn by the addition of fore-carriage wheels, platform and shelving, still using only one horse. Whereas the body of a cart is about 6 feet long, the made-up moffrey extends to about twice that length. In some builders' catalogues a moffrey was referred to as a ‘combined cart and wagon’. ‘Moffrey’ is one of several dialect variants deriving from the educated man's term ‘hermaphrodite’ found in the literature and in farm sale advertisements. These vehicles were used only in the East Midlands and East Anglia and not in other specialist corngrowing areas of England or Scotland, where farmers managed the problems of transport arising at harvest time by using wagons and/or carts. For this purpose, carts were fitted with shelving and extensions of many different patterns and capacity. This article reflects the concerns of the time when horse-drawn vehicles were everywhere and the work of harvesting was very labour-intensive. To a modest extent, it takes us into the minds of wheelwrights and of farmers, illuminating the craftsman's ingenuity. Although the term ‘maker’ is often encountered, the term ‘builder’ encapsulates the difference of approach between those of the craftsman and of the mass manufacture of vehicles by ‘assemblage’.

The Carriage Trade: Making Horse-Drawn Vehicles in America

The Carriage Trade: Making Horse-Drawn Vehicles in America

The Carriage Trade: Making Horse-Drawn Vehicles in America (review)

The Carriage Trade: Making Horse-Drawn Vehicles in America (review)

The carriage trade: making horse-drawn vehicles in America

In 1926, the Carriage Builders' National Association met for the last time, signaling the automobile's final triumph over the horse-drawn carriage. Only a decade earlier, carriages and wagons were still a common sight on every Main Street in America. In the previous century, carriage-building had been one of the largest and most dynamic industries in the country. In this sweeping study of a forgotten trade, Thomas A. Kinney extends our understanding of nineteenth-century American industrialization far beyond the steel mill and railroad. The legendary Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company in 1880 produced a hundred wagons a day-one every six minutes. Across the country, smaller factories fashioned vast quantities of buggies, farm wagons, and luxury carriages. Today, if we think of carriage and wagon at all, we assume it merely foreshadowed the automobile industry. Yet., the carriage industry epitomized a batch-work approach to production that flourished for decades. Contradicting the model of industrial development in which hand tools, small firms, and individual craftsmanship simply gave way to mechanized factories, the carriage industry successfully employed small-scale business and manufacturing practices throughout its history. The Carriage Trade traces the rise and fall of this heterogeneous industry, from the pre-industrial shop system to the coming of the automobile, using as case studies Studebaker, the New York-based luxury carriage-maker Brewsters, and dozens of smallerfirms from around the country. Kinney also explores the experiences of the carriage and wagon worker over the life of the industry. Deeply researched and strikingly original, this study contributes a vivid chapter to the story of America's industrial revolution.

A Walk in the Park Puts You In a N.Y. State of Mind

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Information on Host City and Meeting HighlightsFull AccessA Walk in the Park Puts You In a N.Y. State of MindJoan Arehart-TreichelJoan Arehart-TreichelSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:20 Feb 2004https://doi.org/10.1176/pn.39.4.0022Sea lions take in the view of the New York skyline at the Central Park Zoo. (Copyright Laine Wilser/NYC & Company, Inc.)Back in 1905, a journalist wrote that New York City’s Central Park was teeming with thousands of horse-drawn carriages. There was “the banker seeking recreation in his spider phaeton. . .the tandem lending its bit of smartness to the show.” Sometimes harnessed horses were so spirited that they ran away, and the park’s mounted police had to chase after them and bring them under control.It is now a century later, and Central Park is no longer bustling with horses, phaetons, runabouts, and tandems. Nonetheless, each year the park still lures not just New Yorkers but millions of visitors from throughout the world with numerous attractions. Here are some you might consider, starting from the southernmost end of the park, at 59th Street, and moving north.• Horse-drawn buggy rides: True, New Yorkers no longer drive their own horse-drawn vehicles through Central Park, but taking a chauffeured horse-and-buggy ride is still an option. The carriages for rent can be found along 59th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues, across from the Plaza Hotel.• Wollman Rink: Located in the southeastern part of the park, between 62nd and 63rd streets, the Wollman Rink offers ice skating between November and March and a lovely view of the Manhattan skyline anytime.• Central Park Zoo: This wildlife oasis at 64th Street and Fifth Avenue features tropical, temperate, and polar habitats; more than 1,400 animals (130 species) call it home. The Leaping Frog Café serves snacks and provides outdoor seating during the warmer months.• Central Park Carousel: The first carousel in Central Park was built during the 1870s and was powered by animals. A steam-powered carousel arrived around 1900. The present carousel, at 64th Street in the middle of the park, is the fourth one. The carousel, one of the largest in the United States, was built in 1951 and carries 58 hand-carved steeds.• Visitor Center: The park’s Visitor Center is housed in a 19th-century Swiss chalet called “the Dairy” and can be found at 65th Street. Here, you can ask questions, pick up park information, and purchase a good park map. The center also sports a youngster-friendly exhibition about the park’s history. Central Park, incidentally, was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, a well-known designer of asylum grounds during the 19th century, and was built between 1857 and 1863.• Sheep Meadow: The Sheep Meadow is located in the southwestern area of the park from 66th to 69th streets. Until 1934, it was just what its name implies—a meadow for a flock of sheep. Today, it is a favorite spot for picnickers, kite flyers, sunbathers, families, and visitors who come to admire the New York City skyline.• Tavern on the Green: Located at West 67th Street and Central Park West, across from the Sheep Meadow, Tavern on the Green has long been a popular restaurant with New Yorkers and visitors alike. It consists of six rooms decorated with crystal and mirrors, boasts a lovely garden, and serves contemporary American and seasonal fare. There is no dress code; prices are moderate to moderately expensive.• Strawberry Fields: The Dakota apartment building, located on the northwest corner of 72nd Street and Central Park West, was the place that Beatle John Lennon called home for the latter part of his life. One night in December 1980, he was murdered outside the building as he returned home from a recording session. Strawberry Fields is a gorgeous garden dedicated to Lennon’s memory. It is located directly across from the Dakota building in Central Park. The focus of the garden is an Italian mosaic bearing the title of Lennon’s most famous solo song and his lifelong message: Imagine.More information about Central Park is available by calling (212) 360-3444 for recorded information, (888) NYPARKS for special events information, and (212) 310-6600 to speak to an operator. The park also has a Web site: www.centralparknyc.org▪ ISSUES NewArchived

Slow-moving vehicles in Swedish traffic.

The objective of this study was to reach a better understanding of accidents on Swedish roads involving slow-moving vehicles and to suggest ways of preventing such accidents. We analyzed accident data from a 5-year period (1992-1996) involving all types of farm vehicles as well as horses and horse-drawn vehicles. During each year of the period under investigation, slow-moving vehicles were involved in more than 250 traffic accidents on Swedish roads, and an average of 10 people were killed, 66 sustained serious injuries, and 192 sustained slight injuries. This was about 1.3% of all persons injured in traffic accidents in Sweden. The deaths and injuries mostly involved car drivers and passengers. Tractor drivers and unprotected road users (people walking or traveling by motorcycle, moped, or bicycle) also sustained serious injuries and deaths. Vehicles overtaking slow-moving vehicles from behind were the most common type of accident (30%), followed by turning accidents (27%), accidents at crossroads (26%), and with oncoming vehicles (17%). To strengthen the suggestions for improvement, a questionnaire was sent out to driving school teachers in Sweden. Subjects were asked about their experiences with farm vehicles on the roads and their suggestions for ways to increase traffic safety. Based on the accident data and the questionnaire responses, we developed several suggestions for reducing road accidents, including measures for making farm vehicles more visible, improvement of the training provided at driving schools, and information campaigns directed at drivers of farm vehicles and other road users. Further in-depth research is needed to analyze road accidents involving slow-moving vehicles and to test different intervention measures.