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Carriage Driving and nowadays Traffic
We did know, that draft horse carriage driving in the current traffic jam would not be easy. We must say that the idea about that did not change. People on our road are friendly enough and we did not meet any aggression however, the roads and traffic are not longer adjusted with slow driving vehicles. Pull over The times we cause traffic-jams can’t be count on one hand….! If there is space we always try to pull over to the roadside, but it’s not always possible. On the start of our journey we where very “shy”, it was almost if we did not exist. We used bike roads and out of the way streets. Then we are confronted with too narrow streets and sideway parked cars, so not a pleasant way of horse-drawn driving. Many times, we need to make speed so we can take a steep hill. Cars behind us have to wait then, it took a while before we where comforting with that (because we are also “children from the hectic world” before.)
Truck Drivers On roundabouts, it’s really scary how many people try to get ahead of you. Just because they don want to pass that roundabout on a slow way. Surprisingly enough, truck drivers are the ones helping us. They stop their truck in the middle of the roundabout, holding people behind them and let us trespassing on our own slow way. Chapeau! Roadworks Most scary moments are when we have to pass roadworks handled by traffic lights, especially the ones you can’t see the traffic coming. By the time, we are the end of the roadworks; the other traffic did have their green light and are coming towards us. The same issue occurs in tunnels……..!
Dangerous Sometimes people misjudge the speed we have or the length of the whole carriage including the horses. (That’s about 8 meters/26 feet) Misjudging this length, they try to overtake us even when there is a car upfront. One time a lady in a big car, passes us and then hit Aysha (our leading horse on the left side) when she steer to quick to the right. Luckily, Aysha is bomproof and only jumped a bit side wards, not injured. The lady stepped on the gas and speed away! "Hilarious" In Austria, we had to pay a fine because:
“we where diluting the road with manure!”
Draft horse carriage driving in the current traffic is definitively not easy! Thea
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