Police horses ditch their uniform for Oxfordshire 'close pass' roads operation

Thames Valley Police horses Atlas and Viktor ditched their usual branded force clothing in favour of plain hi-viz sheets for the operation near the Oxfordshire-Buckinghamshire border.

It followed concerns about vehicles getting too close to horses and their riders, risking the animals being spooked.

“If the horse gets spooked it could throw the rider from the saddle into the road. The horse could bolt and take off and that causes an issue for all other road users because the horse is now loose,” said PC Liz Johnson of Thames Valley’s road policing unit.

“With the new Highway Code it sets out very clearly you need to reduce your speed right down to 10mph and give those horses a 2m gap.”

Data from the British Horse Society, on whose website ‘close passes’ can be reported, showed 130 incidents had been reported across the Thames Valley last year. They included five cases where horses were injured and three where riders were left injured.

Thames Valley Police officers and horses worked with council officers, firefighters and the British Horse Society for the 'close pass' operation in Tingewick Picture: TVP

PC Johnson told the Oxford Mail of the ‘close passes’: “We’re getting more and more reports of incidents.

“My message to drivers is to look out, if you’re driving along and you maybe see some horse manure that is a really good indication there is likely to be a horse on the road. Take appropriate action, look out for that rider on a horse and slow down.”

READ MORE: Horse rider safety campaign launched in Oxfordshire as many injured on UK roads

Passing a horse too closely or striking the animal and its rider could be prosecuted as careless driving, with a £100 fine and three penalty points.

However, those drivers pulled over during the operation in Finmere, near Buckingham, on Wednesday were only expected to receive words of warning – with the focus on education rather than enforcement.

Alan Hiscox of the British Horse Society, who took part in the operation, said 66 horses were killed on the UK’s roads last year and urged drivers to take care.

He said: “It will not only save the lives of horses and riders but also the lives of people in vehicles as well. A horse weighs three-quarters of a tonne; if [they were hit by a car they] could cause serious damage.”

Police horse Atlas, PC Sam Silk and PC Emma Weir riding Viktor during the operation Picture: TVP

Last year, safety signs urging drivers to pass riders ‘wide and slow’ were put up in hotspots around the county, including in Wootton Village, Sibford Ferris near Banbury and on Lovegrove’s Lane near Checkendon Equestrian Centre.

The British Horse Society-led campaign was supported by Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. Andy Ford, road safety education manager with the fire service, said at the time: “I encourage anyone who owns a vehicle to think about the devastating consequences if they ploughed into a horse, or if by passing at speed they frightened the animal; the rider injured or killed as a result.”

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