NYC Carriage Drivers Behaving Badly

They whitewash their license plates; do not pay attention to the road, make illegal U-turns; leave their horses unattended and pull them by the bit - and still this tiny (but protected) industry manages to survive. WHY do these violations matter? Because failure to adhere to these basic laws—and basic rules of horsemanship—endangers the public safety.

this is a post on Buzzfeed.  Please click here to see it.   

Here are a few examples from the post:

White washed license plate

Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages

Why make it easy to report a violation?

Parked over a steaming manhole cover

no concern for the possibility that it could EXPLODE! as many have done in Manhattan. Not to mention that it must be uncomfortable for the horse.

Mickey Z

Wrong way on a one-way street

Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages

Seems that the driver forgot his street map, because he is traveling north-east—illegally—on a street that goes south-west. Cops? nowhere to be found.

“Unattended and Untethered”

Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages

perfect recipe for a “spook and bolt.” If something happened and this horse spooked and bolted into traffic, his driver would not be able to stop him. This is very unprofessional and irresponsible behavior.

This can happen when horses spook!

Smoothie’s driver left her unattended and untethered at the hack line and was not paying attention. A loud noise spooked Smoothie and her driver was not close enough to calm her. She bolted and ran into a tree where she hit her head and died. She was only 12 years old.