{"id":597,"date":"2006-01-09T10:15:26","date_gmt":"2006-01-09T18:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2006\/01\/they_test_horse-drawn_carriage_drivers_dont_they.html"},"modified":"2006-01-09T10:15:26","modified_gmt":"2006-01-09T18:15:26","slug":"they_test_horse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/archives\/2006\/01\/they_test_horse.html","title":{"rendered":"They Test Horse-Drawn Carriage Drivers, Don’t They?"},"content":{"rendered":"

After last week’s frightening horse carriage accident<\/a>, the Daily News investigates just how easy it is to obtain a carriage driver’s license<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Getting a city license to guide a half-ton horse through the busy streets of midtown Manhattan is easier than getting a driver’s license.
\nAll it takes is a $25 money order, two passport-size photos and the ability to pass a test about the health of a horse.<\/p>\n

But the carriage driver never has to prove he can actually steer the horse — even though those skills can mean everything to the safety of New Yorkers.<\/p>\n

Perhaps not surprisingly, the No. 1 cause of wrecks is inexperienced drivers, according to city records.<\/p>\n

“Horses driving in the city almost have to be perfect,” said Larry Chapman, a member of the board of directors of the Carriage Operators of North America. “If they move a few inches to the left or right, they are in someone else’s lane,” he said. “You need more critical experience than driving a car, and instead you get less training.”<\/p>\n

. . .<\/p>\n

The city requires applicants provide ID and take a $25 course offered by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The course does not include time in a classroom or on the back of a carriage.<\/p>\n

Instead, an applicant is handed a 46-page training manual and the same “Rules of the Road” booklet used for standard driver’s licenses. And though the manual contains safety tips on how to steer a carriage through traffic, the bulk of it deals with the health of the horse and tips on how to combat colic, fatigue and dental problems.<\/p>\n

After studying the manual, the applicant must watch a training video and pass two tests, which the Department of Health offers four times a year. The first is a written exam, the second a “practical” test on administering first aid to the horse. There is no driving demonstration.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

See also this Talk of the Town piece<\/a>, which includes this bit:<\/p>\n

The official operator’s manual has a section called “Dealing with Hostile People,” which asserts that “in New York City, it is common for strangers to approach drivers and begin loud and\/or hostile criticism of the carriage horse industry.” Here was a subject any New Yorker could ace. “Smile and ignore them,” the answer goes.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(Just to be clear, I’ve thought<\/em> these sort of things but never actually said<\/em> them . . .)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After last week’s frightening horse carriage accident, the Daily News investigates just how easy it is to obtain a carriage driver’s license: Getting a city license to guide a half-ton horse through the busy streets of midtown Manhattan is easier than getting a driver’s license. All it takes is a $25 money order, two passport-size […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-were_all_gonna_die"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}