Those going about their business on four wheels as normal one day last week got a little more than they bargained for in terms of the navigable hazards that present themselves on local roads, this time coming in the form of one on four legs.
For there, in the middle of intense traffic, was a horse, in the equestrian distraction for drivers that took place on 1 March in Nanjing.
Specifically, the “horse-before-the-cart” [apologies; Ed.] incident happened at the intersection of Dazhou Lu and Ningdan Lu in our City’s Yuhuatai District, to the west of Jiangning District’s Jiangjun Shan Scenic Area.
A report published that evening by The Paper included comment from a spokesperson for the 8th Division of the Nanjing Traffic Police Squad which was responsible for the handling of the incident.
She said, “We have the horse under control”. The officer then added that it had subsequently been handed over to the relevant departments.
Yet, in a popular video posted online, horse enforcement was nowhere to be seen, as the mount happily trotted along the busy four-lane road.
The horse, being a species well known for its intelligence, also displayed a remarkable degree of road craft, perfectly utilising a U-turn lane for the purpose for which it was intended.
As a result, there is speculation among some it is possible that Nanjing’s finest deliberately held back in their approaches of the beast, not out of intimidation, but in order to give the horse more of an opportunity to set a good example to local drivers.
See the horse in action for yourself via this link.
