“I’VE NEVER seen anything like it” – road safety campaigners hit out at “insane” footage of an illegal “traveller” road race.
The two-minute-long clip captured a convoy of at least 13 vehicles following the illegal horse and cart race on a main road.
The race spectators can be seen hanging out of passenger windows, and even sunroofs, as the convoy speeds along the road to keep up with the horses.
Some of the men can be heard shouting “come on” as the horses speed down the road, surrounded by fast moving vehicles taking over the full breadth of the road.
The video is thought to have been filmed in Ireland, as the cars appear to have Irish number plates.
Road safety campaigners today dubbed the footage “insane” and said they had never seen “anything like it” before.
In “Sulky racing” the driver sits in a two-wheeled cart which has a lightweight seat and traps.
The sport is popular among the travelling community, but illegal on public roads in Ireland.
The video was posted to Youtube on Thursday (NOV 23), but is unclear when the race itself took place.
The video, filmed from the perspective of a spectator who appears to be hanging out of a car window and clinging onto its roof, begins with two sulky racers crossing onto the left side of the road.
A vehicle can be seen ahead blocking the road, almost acting as a starting line.
As the two carts line up, two men can be seen sitting on one of the car’s windows and holding onto the roof.
The camera moves out as more vehicles come into view, and at least one person can be seen hanging out of a passenger door to get a good view of the race.
As the carts race down the road, more and more vehicles appear – at least 13 can be seen weaving in and out of the clip.
The drivers of the vehicles take over both sides of the carriageway on the road, putting other road users in danger.
At one point in the shocking clip, a man can be seen opening the door to a maroon vehicle and then closing it behind him, before appearing moments later standing out of the sun roof.
The spectators can be heard shouting “come on” at the racers as they speed down the road, before the clip suddenly cuts out.
A spokesman for SWD Media, a road safety campaign group, said: “I’ve never seen anything like it.
“It’s insane, I don’t think anyone taking part has a care in the world for their own safety.
“This certainly shouldn’t be taking place on a public road.
“The only place anyone should see anything like this would be on a race track and even then I would still question it.”
In 2012 a video of traveller’s sulky racing on a busy Cork road went viral and caused outrage amongst road safety chiefs and animal rights groups.
Two men were filmed wearing through traffic at high speed on the Cork to Mallow road, narrowly avoiding oncoming cars.
In June this year there were calls for Sulky racing to be banned after a horse died in an accident in Kilkenny, Ireland.
The driver was thrown from the cart after colliding with a stop sign, but was not seriously injured.
