Making the case for a break from carriages
September 29th, 2009 by admin
Last night, ARFF Coordinators Bryan and Carla Wilson spoke before the St. Augustine City Commission about the miserable lives of horses forced to pull carriages on the streets of the historic city.
ARFF’s presentation was covered by the St. Augustine Record and by Jacksonville’s “Action News” Ch. 46. Before the meeting began, the television news ran a teaser that featured scenes from last December’s accident in St. Augustine when a speeding SUV struck the rear of a horse-drawn carriage carrying two passengers. The risk of accidents was one of the problems that ARFF’s representatives emphasized during their speech. There have been at least ten serious accidents in the past ten years in St. Augustine.
Several carriage drivers were in the audience during last night’s meeting. On their way out, one of them asked a question of the horse advocates who were sitting together, “Skate boards are slow too, do you want to ban those next?” Of course, the question is ridiculous, but what the man probably didn’t know is that St. Augustine has tighter restrictions on skate boarding* than they do concerning horse-drawn carriages. The City of St. Augustine does not ban horses from the city’s busiest streets. There are no limits on how many hours per day a horse can remain on the streets. Nothing prevents horses from working on the hottest days of the summer.
*Ordinance Sec. 24-9. “Roller skating, skateboarding restricted.” Skateboarding on a roadway is likely also prohibited by state law (Florida Statute 316.2065(12)).
You Can Help
Contact the City Commission and ask them what steps they plan to take to ensure the safety of horses on city streets.Contact:
Mayor Joseph L. Boles
St. Augustine City Commission
E-mail: cosa@ci.st-augustine.fl.us
Visit ARFF’s website to learn more about horse-drawn carriages.