Perthshire crash survivor reins in new safety campaign

Aug 24 2010 by Denis Brown, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

CRASH survivor Dawn Murphy is reining in a new safety campaign to make rural roads safer for horse-drawn traffic.

In March last year, the shire resident and her son Lee were lucky to escape with only minor injuries after an impatient motorist collided with their horse-drawn buggy in Abernethy.

“We’d gone into town to get some milk and were on our way back when this guy in a pick-up came up fast on our left-hand side,” recalled Lee (17).

“Mum was shouting at him to stop as the horse was getting really spooked but he floored it past us – his trailer hit the cart, the shaft broke and the horse took a fit.

“Mum was thrown out of the cart, landed in the middle of the road. I managed to stay on for about a minute, but it was too scary, so I jumped and hit a wall.”

Spurred on by adrenalin and assisted by two locals in a car and a quick-thinking lorry driver who blocked the road ahead, Mrs Murphy eventually caught up with and reined in her distressed horse.

Meanwhile, a local woman noted the culprit’s registration number and a farmer later pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless driving.

But the horrific experience left its mark on Mrs Murphy, who has been too traumatised to venture out on roads via horse and cart ever since.

But now she is hatching a road safety campaign, hopefully involving Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) and Perth MSP Roseanna Cunningham – to gee up drivers about legal obligations regarding horse-drawn vehicles.

“I know quite a few people in villages such as Abernethy, Bridge of Earn and Scotlandwell who still like to travel local roads on horse and carts but are too scared, even though we have right of way,” she said.

“Mike Lees at the council has been very helpful and I’m hoping he’ll assist me with the campaign, which will involve a convoy of horse and carts at some point next year.

“Many of us are sick of the way we’re treated by drivers – sometimes we get shouted at, or people will overtake us like we’re another car.

“Cars should slow down, wait till they can pass as far over on the other side of the road as possible and maintain a steady pace so as to not spook the horse.”

Tayside Police Road Policing Unit head, Inspector Grant Edward, referred to the highway code as “the bible”, saying road rules were crystal clear about giving way to horse-drawn vehicles.

He said PKC, which had a statutory responsibility for roads safety, sought his unit’s advice and erected signage warning motorists about horse riders and carts in areas of concern around the two shires.

“I totally agree with Mrs Murphy,” said Insp Edward.

“Our biggest concern on rural roads at the moment is slow-moving agricultural vehicles, as it’s harvest time, and like horse-drawn carts, they are entitled to use the roads.”

A PKC spokeswoman said the council had assisted Mrs Murphy and erected warning signs at either end of Abernethy to advise motorists that a horse-drawn vehicle may be out on the road.

“We are also looking currently at whether any additional measures to improve road safety are required,” she said.