Horse-drawn carriage accidents in 2018: A shocking toll

A grim toll: The animal rights organisation PETA has published the horse-drawn carriage accident statistics for the past year. In 2018, there were 33 accidents across Germany in which ten people were killed and 62 were injured – many of them seriously. In addition, four horses died and four further animals were injured. The previous year recorded 41 accidents with three fatalities and 67 injuries. By far the most common cause of accidents was one or more horses being startled in road traffic or on a forest or field path.

Horse-drawn carriages: Extremely high risks

"The risks involved in horse-drawn carriage rides are extremely high. While the strictest safety standards apply to motor vehicles, carriages are still allowed to trot along roads as if it were the Middle Ages. We are calling for a ban on horse-drawn carriages as a means of transport – to protect both people and animals," said Jana Hoger, policy advisor at PETA. "It is utterly absurd to use horses in road traffic. As flight animals, they are often startled by minor disturbances, and a simple honk of a horn can trigger a tragedy."

In Austria too, 2018 saw several accidents involving horse-drawn carriages: five incidents left 29 people injured. In Switzerland, four accidents resulted in one person and two horses being injured. In light of the repeatedly tragic record of 42 accidents in German-speaking countries, involving ten people killed, 92 people injured, four horses killed and six horses injured, PETA is calling on the Federal Ministry of Transport to introduce, as a first step, a ban on horse-drawn carriages on motorways and major roads. More on this topic Animal welfare issue.

Lack of safety standards contributes to serious accidents

The animal rights organization pointed out that the frequently severe outcomes of these accidents are mainly attributable to the lack of safety features such as seatbelts and airbags, as well as inadequate lighting and insufficient braking systems. A comparison with accident statistics from the motor vehicle sector is therefore not meaningful: unlike horse-drawn carriages, the safety of motorized vehicles is continuously being improved and adapted to current standards. In 2010, Rothenburg ob der Tauber passed a ban on horse-drawn carriages in the city center following a serious carriage accident, a decision that was upheld by the Bavarian Administrative Court of Appeal.

Part of PETA's motto reads: animals are not here for our entertainment. The animal rights organization also advocates for a ban on horse-drawn carriages on animal welfare grounds. Particularly for tourist carriage teams, the animals are often forced to stand for hours in winter cold or summer heat amid loud and dangerous road traffic on hard asphalt, or to pull heavy carriages — frequently to the point of collapse.Horses are denied a species-appropriate way of life when put before carriages.Further articles on this topic can be found in the category Animal rights.