Buses displaying guidance on how to pass horses safely will go out around the country this summer.
This week, road safety campaign group Pass Wide and Slow reached its £15,000 target, which will fund signs to be displayed on the back of 50 buses. The buses will be in 10 regions, with the exact routes still to be agreed.
“It’s a big thing for a social media group to raise so much money, we had donations from around 1,700 members this time,” PWAS founder Debbie Smith told H&H.
“We had some people donating as much as £100, and on the final day when we said we needed just £300 more to reach our target someone made the full donation, which is amazing.”
This is the second year the group has raised funds for advertising on buses. Last year 35 buses went out in seven regions.
“After the buses went out last year we ran a poll and our members voted in favour of us doing it again,” said Debbie.
“Last year the bus company chose the best routes that would have the biggest impact on drivers, and this year we hope to cover areas where horses have been lost on the road and areas statistics show are the worst for incidents.”
The buses will go out throughout August, and the annual PWAS awareness rides will take place on 14 and 15 September. The campaign launched in 2016, and last year more than 170 rides took place around the UK, with support from councillors, MPs and police forces.
“We already have 157 rides registered so far,” said Debbie. “That is what our group is about, taking action and members getting involved to help raise awareness.”
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