The Legislative Assembly Economy and Infrastructure Committee Inquiry into vulnerable road users in Victoria invited Animal Care Australia to testify about the issues faced by horse and carriage drivers on their roads.
Animal Care Australia Horse & Livestock Representative, Karri Nadazdy, appeared on Thursday 24th August 2023.
Opening statement:
Good morning, my name is Karri Nadazdy and I am the Horse & Livestock Representative for Animal Care Australia.
ACA is a national incorporated association established to advocate for real animal welfare by those who keep, breed and care for animals. Our goal is to promote and encourage high standards in all interactions with the animals in our care.
I am here today, on behalf of all Victorian Equestrians, whether they are ACA members or not.
ACA was concerned to learn that the laws for vehicles passing ridden and driven horses on our roads are so lax, they are effectively non-existent. The current rules put the responsibility of staying safe on the equestrian, and not the motorist.
In 2019, Melbourne City Council reacted to an issue with how motorists were behaving around horse drawn carriages. Instead of resolving the issues, they decided it was just easier to ban the horses. This is NOT the answer. The horses were not hitting the cars, the cars were hitting the horses. The elderly, the disabled and children are also hit by cars but I doubt anyone on this Committee would agree that all vulnerable road users should be banned from using the roads. It sounds ludicrous to say that, but that’s exactly what the Council did to the carriage horses.
The problem was not solved and 3 years later, we are still discussing the same issues.
Despite horses sharing the roads since the very early days of settlement there has been no substantial changes to protect them. Currently there is a recommendation to slow down when there is a horse on the road ahead but there is no enforceable law. We cannot re-educate drivers on laws that don’t exist.
I hope that today, we can make some progress to include and protect horses and their humans under Victoria’s legislative umbrella, and ensure that bans and restrictions of horses and their humans isn’t repeated.
ACA thanks you for the opportunity to speak today and for recognising that equestrians deserve to be safe on our roads too.
I welcome your questions.
Animal Care Australia, appeared before the Committee to discuss the experience of equestrians when on roads in Victoria.
Animal Care Australia appeared alongside Bitless Inc. Both organisations had previously worked together on a survey that was promoted to all Victorian equestrians to gather real time feedback in readiness for their submissions and testimony.
Animal Care Australia and Bitless Inc provided testimony that motorists are failing to safely pass by horses on the roads, usually driving too fast, not leaving enough space, or deliberately provoking the horses to react.
Potential solutions to improve equestrian safety were discussed, from signage that tells drivers to slow down to 40km/hr when passing equestrians, to whether helmets and hi viz should be a requirement to ride or drive horses on roads.
The Committee is expected to complete their report and publish their recommendations by 31 March 2024.
Originally published: September 2023 ACE Newsletter.
