Dead Slow Safety Signs Installed for Staffordshire Horses

Following pleas from local riders, eight specially commissioned Dead Slow safety signs have been installed around the village of Brewood as the threat of traffic connected to a major housing development is causing alarm to the equestrian community.

This action is the result of a collaboration between The British Horse Society (BHS), Staffordshire County Council Highways Department and Horse & Road Safety Awareness as work starts on an estate of 73 new homes.

Local resident and equestrian Sue Hayes explains her concerns:

When the news broke about the development here in Brewood, I was especially concerned about works traffic on Ivy House Lane and Four Ashes Road. Sharp bends, poor visibility – it would be an accident waiting to happen. I had seen ‘Dead Slow’ signs up in Northumberland on holiday and so I got in touch with the BHS. They contacted Staffordshire County Council’s Highways team and we then met with a community officer and the BHS’s Alan Hiscox on site to discuss what could be done.

On the new Dead Slow safety signs, Sue commented:

I am really pleased that we now have eight signs up in the village. A big thank you to the many BHS team members who helped make this happen – including BHS Regional Manager, Andrea Jackman.”

Judi Cartwright has been riding locally for many years and knows only too well how dangerous it can be for all road users when people do not adhere to safety guidelines. She says:

Brewood village has a number of blackspots – blind bends and sharp turns, with drivers using our roads as a rat run between the A5 and the A449. There is one bend that motorists regularly take too fast and end up in a farmer’s field! And that is before the construction traffic arrives.”

The BHS’s ‘Dead Slow’ campaign is designed to educate drivers on what to do when they encounter horses on the road and was launched in light of statistics showing an alarming rise in the number of incidents involving horses and riders on the road.

The key behavioural change messages to drivers are:

If I see a horse on the road then I will …

1. Slow down to a maximum of 15mph
2. Be patient – do not sound the horn or rev the engine
3. Pass the horse wide and slow, (if safe to do so) at least two metres distance, if possible
4. Drive slowly away.

In one year alone a report stated that 54 road incidents in the West Midlands were reported to The British Horse Society (BHS) including the death of one person in Staffordshire. The latest statistics for the region have almost doubled compared to the previous year and equate to just over one incident a week.

The BHS collates statistics each year to understand the rate of incidents involving horses and riders on UK roads. Last year’s figures showed 845 incidents were reported to the charity, resulting in the tragic death of 87 horses and 4 people.

To learn more the BHS Dead Slow Road Safety Campaign visit www.bhs.org.uk/our-work/safety/dead-slow

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Suzanne Ashton

Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.