Yorkshire riders call for curb on speeding drivers

Riders in Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, have called for action to slow down drivers following a series of accidents on narrow country roads.

The Eppleby and Newsham area has been particularly badly affected, with three accidents in two days in September — one of which resulted in a rider sustaining a broken rib.

There is a riding school as well as several private stables in the area, with speed limits on surrounding roads of mainly 60mph.

Local councillor Mick Griffiths said a 40mph limit, which has been adopted in many rural areas around the country, would be more appropriate in an overwhelmingly rural county like North Yorkshire.

He is now calling for North Yorkshire County Council’s highways department to reappraise the area’s speed limits, and to erect signs warning drivers of the prevalence of horses in the area.

“What’s needed is some consideration on all sides,” he said. “We don’t want a tragedy.”

For more on this, see the current issue of Horse & Hound (9 October 2008).

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