LAWS banning sulky racing on public roads needs to be enacted to protect the safety of law abiding road users, a Limerick TD has said.
The call came from Fianna Fail Deputy Niall Collins who was responding to details of an incident where a pregnant woman was forced to swerve her car off the road and was hit from behind after she encountered several cars driving across both lanes as they protected a sulky race.Â
Sunday’s morning incident happened on the N20 Limerick to Cork road when more than ten cars blocked both lanes of the road to protect racing sulkies.
Limerick City and County Council last year adopted bye-laws to ban sulky racing on public roads. Those bye-laws came in to effect this January under the Control of Horses Act covering the licensing of horses and regulating sulky racing.
TDs are now being asked to consider national legislation to tackle sulky racing.
Deputy Collins told the Limerick Post that sulky racing should be banned from the public roads and only permitted in exceptions and by license of An Garda Siochana.
“I frequently receive complaints from road users who have experienced sulky racing in very dangerous circumstances. This is often accompanied by very aggressive, threatening and abusive behaviour being directed towards law abiding people.”
Last week, Dublin Coroner’s Court heard the tragic details of the death of a 12-year-old boy killed after he was thrown from a sulky in February 2016.
The inquest recommended the introduction of suitable laws to regulate the practice of sulky racing.
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