HORSES AND HORSE-DRAWN VEHICLES
39A:33-HDV1. Horses on public highways
a. A person shall not drive a horse attached to a sleigh or sled on a public highway without a means of giving audible warning of its approach.
b. A horse shall not be left unattended in a public highway unless securely fastened or unless the wheels of the vehicle to which the horse is harnessed are securely tied, fastened or chained, and the vehicle is of sufficient weight to prevent its being dragged at a dangerous speed with the wheels so secured.
c. A person shall not fasten a horse in such a manner that the tie rope, reins, or lines are an obstruction to the free use of a sidewalk or crosswalk.
d. A horse shall not be fastened to a pole carrying any wires, a public lamp-post, or pole, a shade tree or its protecting box or casing, or to a water hydrant.
e. A person shall not cease to hold the reins in that person’s hands while riding, driving, or conducting a horse.
f. A horse shall not be unbitted on a public highway unless secured by a halter.
g. A person shall not remove any part of a vehicle or harness attached to a horse that is likely to cause an accident if the horse starts, without first unhitching the horse.
h. A person shall not trot, run or race a horse on a public highway, whether for trial of speed or for the purpose of passing another horse or vehicle. This section shall not apply where permission for racing is given by the proper municipal authorities and the portion of the public highway devoted to the racing is properly closed to other traffic.
i. Every vehicle drawn by a horse or other beast shall have, from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise, and during foggy conditions, at least one lighted lamp on the front of the vehicle. The lamp shall show a white light and shall be of a nature and so displayed that it may be seen from at least 500 feet in the direction toward which the vehicle is proceeding. During those same times, there shall be attached to the rear of the vehicle two lighted lamps showing a red light visible for a distance of at least 500 feet in the direction from which the vehicle is proceeding.
Source: 39:4-15; 39:4-16; 39:4-17; 39:4-18; 39:4-19; 39:4-20; 39:4-21; 39:4-22; 39:4-25.
COMMENT
This section contains the substance of the original sections and has been consolidated, reordered, and some of the language changed slightly.
39A:33-HDV2. Rights and prohibitions regarding horses and horse-drawn vehicles
a. A person riding an animal or driving an animal-drawn vehicle upon a public highway shall be granted all of the rights and subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by chapter four of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes and all supplements thereto, except the provisions which by their very nature can have no application.
b. A person shall not ill-treat, overdrive, override or beat a horse. A person who violates this section is guilty of a disorderly persons offense, except that a person who beats a horse is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree, and shall be subject to the provisions of 4:22-17, 4:22-21, and 4:22-26, as appropriate.
c. A person shall not crack or use a whip to annoy, interfere with or endanger a person or excite a horse other than a horse that person is using.
Source: 39:4-23; 39:4-24; 39:4-25.1.
COMMENT
This section contains the substance of the original sections.