Equestrian groups and riders have been organising petitions for at least 14 years. Photo: ANDOR BUJDOSO / 123RF
Horse riders feel "frustrated" after years of inaction on repeated bids for greater safety measures to protect riders on roads and shared pathways.
Equestrian groups and riders have gained support from tens of thousands of people for petitions over at least 14 years, to provide greater transport protections like road signage and better road education.
In October, the New Zealand Equestrian Advocacy Network (NZEAN) and the Pass Wide and Slow NZ movement took a parliamentary petition to the government's transport and infrastructure select committee, with support from NZ Riding for the Disabled, Equestrian Sports NZ, NZ Pony Club Association and Te Hapori Hōiho.
The petition with more than 7500 signatures called for safety provisions in legislation for horse riders in the Land Transport Act, and for their inclusion in road safety and shared pathways initiatives.
NZEAN chairperson Shelly Warwick said sharing roads with cars could be dangerous for horse riders.
She said excluding horse-friendly areas like Hanmer Springs and Kāpiti Coast, local authorities did not encourage riders to use shared pathways either.
Riders were feeling "frustrated" their pleas for greater safety considerations locally and nationally had been "overlooked".
"There have been petitions since 2011 asking for road safety considerations, and nothing has changed," she said.
"And in that time, horses and their riders have been maimed and killed on our roads."
Road crashes involving horse riders
A spokesperson for the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) said there had been three cases of injuries from road crashes involving equestrians in the past five years, excluding on shared pathways, but no road deaths.
"One serious injury crash in 2020, one minor injury crash in 2020, one serious injury crash in 2024. In all three crashes the horse rider was injured," the spokesperson said.
"There have been no fatal crashes involving equestrians in the last five years."
However, the spokesperson said crash data was limited to crashes involving equestrians and non-fatal crashes were often under-reported.
Since 2019, ACC confirmed there had been "low numbers" of new claims relating to road deaths of horse riders in 2020, 2021 and 2023, but the number which was fewer than four was suppressed for client privacy.
ACC injury prevention leader James Whitaker said people riding horses had just as much right to use the road as car drivers.
"If you are approaching a horse and rider in your car - share the space and carefully choose an appropriate opportunity to pass wide and slow," Whitaker said.
"Riders should ensure their gear fits properly, especially your helmet and saddle, before going for a ride."
ACC spent $3.6 million in costs relating to claims for injuries involving horse riders and vehicles between 2019 and November 2024.
In that time, the highest number of new claims involving riders and cars was in Canterbury at 92 claims, 77 in Auckland and 72 in Waikato.
NZTA said the New Zealand Road Code included guidance for motorists on sharing the road safely with horse riders, and guidance for horse riders to help keep them safe on the roads.
Guidance from the Land Transport Act included riders keeping animals on the road margin to the left as far as practical, single-file riding, and they were prohibited to ride along a footpath adjacent to or forming part of the road.
"NZTA reminds motorists to follow the rules and take extra care when sharing the road with horse riders," the guidance said.
Who is a vulnerable road user?
Old NZTA documents referred to "vulnerable road users"' as people at heightened risk including pedestrians, people on wheels like mobility scooters or wheechairs, or people on animals.
However, the term was excluded from the Land Transport Act.
Warwick said in efforts to improve driver awareness, riders wanted to be recognised as vulnerable road users, as pedestrians and cyclists were often referred to, though it was not a legal term.
"Vulnerable road users, they use that terminology and yet they don't actually define who the vulnerable road user is, which is what we're asking them to do."
An NZTA spokesperson said there was no legal status for cyclists, pedestrians or horse riders as 'vulnerable road users'.
"'Vulnerable road user' is not a term currently used or defined in New Zealand transport legislation and rules for any road users.
"A legislative change to include such a definition in transport law would need to be initiated by the Ministry of Transport."
Warwick said riders felt they had "got nowhere" with numerous letters to transport ministers, on a local level with councils and appeals to government.
"One of the questions that one of the MPs did ask, which was very poignant actually, was he asked directly to NZTA and to the Ministry of Transport, 'In the last 20 years, what proactive measures have you made to ensure the safety of horse riders on the roads?' And neither of them could actually answer that question."
Drivers faced a $55 fine for failing to exercise due care to driven animals like horses.
The next steps for progressing the parliamentary petition was to be reported and referred to the Minister of Transport.
