Horse and buggy traffic advice for P.E.I. from Amish country

So far this year, eastern P.E.I. has had at least two collisions involving horse-drawn buggies. It's a problem Pennsylvania's Lancaster County has been dealing with for years.

Pennsylvania has a large Amish population, particularly in Lancaster County, who move around on state roads by horse and buggy. Horse and buggy traffic is increasing in eastern P.E.I. with the arrival of Amish settlers there.

Fritzi Schreffler, a spokesperson for Pennsylvania's Department of Transportation, said horse and buggy accidents are a problem without any easy solutions.

"A lot of the landscape involves curves and hills," said Schreffler, of the roads in Lancaster County.

"They come upon them very suddenly and usually the end result is unfortunately fatalities but also serious injuries."

Schreffler said the state has been trying to put wider shoulders on new road projects to give horse and buggy drivers a place to get out of the way of motorized traffic, but problems persist on existing roads.

It is really up to drivers to pay attention, She said, adding the state has education programs to try to deliver that message.

"They're just not expecting them or they believe that they have the right of wayon the roads. It's much like dealing with motorcycles or bicycles. Motorists aren't as kind as they could be in sharing the road," she said.

Pennsylvania has also been working with the Amish community to come up with uniform programs for horse and buggy driver education, as well as for lighting on horse-drawn vehicles.

More P.E.I. news