BTB: Three reasons to drive SLOWLY

Posted: 22 Nov 2010 01:17 PM PST

My vet was out at the barn this past weekend to deal with a mild colic. I walked past with Riley and he patted him and said, "It's so nice to see a happy horse. I've seen too many unhappy horses this weekend." He looked uncharacteristically haggard. I asked if there had been a rash of colics. The answer was no.

Not colics. It was something much worse.

Waking nightmare on Route 94
Late Saturday night, my vet was called out to a farm, not to help a sick horse, but to put down three horses that were catastrophically injured. They had gotten loose, and were all together on the road, and all three were hit by a car. The passengers in the car were helicoptered out, no word on them. The horses? I was spared any description except for a comment that "it was a scene from WWII." I later found this news account: Horses on Warren County Highway cause accident. The account differs from what the vet said -- I'm inclined to go with the vet's account.

Myth: It's safe to speed on country roads
Some people look at country roads as an opportunity to speed -- to enjoy the power, to make up time, whatever. When I go to my barn, it's likely as not I'll have someone riding my tail, swerving to try to pass me, flashing their brights. I'm sure they're thinking why the hell is she so slow?

Here's my response...
I'm slow because I KNOW this road and it's many blind curves. I know where the deer graze. I know about the elderly lady that tends to plantings at the edge of the road. I know there's a Mennonite church where kids play. I know the farms that have horses and tape fencing.

Hurtling through space 55MPH in the dark
We feel safe in our cars, but think about being in a metal box hurtling through the dark -- sound safe to you? Think of those poor people and those frightened horses on the road. The accident may have been unavoidable -- but in many cases careful, defensive, just plain SLOW driving can prevent collisions.

Me, I drive slowly, often at or under the speed limit, depending on conditions. I think about safety. I've been the butt of a few jokes. I don't care about being uncool. I'm not into carnage -- horse or human -- and nothing at the end of my route is so urgent that it can't wait an extra minute or two.

Info on Rural road safety

Two-thirds of all highway fatalities occur on rural roads even though two-thirds of all accidents occur on urban roads.
Rural roads often aren't as well-engineered as urban highways; rural drivers have lower rates of seat-belt use and higher drunken-driving rates, and acute medical care is often slower to reach crash victims.
A larger portion of vehicles in rural fatal crashes are involved in head-on collisions, 25 percent,
than in urban crashes, at 14%.
Approximately 71 percent of rural fatal crashes occurred on roadways with speed limits of 55 mph or higher.
69 percent of Americans responded that they felt safe on multilane freeways in urban areas, while 79 percent felt safe on two-lane highways in rural areas.
Rural drivers are more likely to speed than urban drivers.
Crash victims are five to seven times more likely to die if arrival to a hospital exceeds 30 minutes.