Horse-Drawn Carriage Accident Raises Concerns

In just about every historic city in America, including Savannah, you'll find horse-drawn carriages. But lately some of those cities have had unusual accidents.

Last month in Texas, an ATV scared a horse pulling a carriage. The driver was trampled and run over by the carriage. He survived the incident with severe head injuries.

Just this week in Charleston, six people received minor injuries when a carriage horse slipped its bridle and dashed off, hitting a curb and tipping the carriage over.

After one incident in New York City, a councilman wants to ban horse-drawn carriages in Central Park. A horse died after it was spooked by street musicians and bolted down the street. It was the second such incident in less than two years.

How Carriage Companies in Savannah are Keeping You Safe

Drivers say it comes down to being prepared for anything. Every day is different – you never know what could happen. But one company owner tells us you don't need to worry because your carriage is in good hands.

It's cleaning time at Carriage Tours of Savannah and owner Cara Sandt is doing her part. "This is our time to refurbish carriages. We have city inspections in January," says Cara.

After the horses are groomed and harnessed, they seem happy to walk the city streets. But in rare situations – they can get spooked.

"Any extremely loud noises or things that are unexpected to them would certainly be a trigger for them," says Cara. She says their horses are well trained and if they get spooked, drivers have ways to calm them down.

"They look to us when they're scared and we can do the same – find comfort in them when we're scared," says Cara. She adds that her drivers have years of experience with horses.

Cara worries sometimes about cities like New York, where some want to put companies like hers out of business. "It's obvious something like that frightens me because this is a really nostalgic way to see our city," says Cara. "Hopefully we'll never have to deal with that."

Right now, Carriage Tours of Savannah only does one or two tours a night. That'll change next month for Valentines Day.

Carriage Tours of Savannah