Moment a car almost crashes into a horse as police release footage of heartbreaking near misses on the roads

This is the heartbreaking moment a car almost crashes into a horse while making a risky overtaking attempt on a country road.

The near miss is one of several shocking incidents caught on camera and posted by Staffordshire Police after 45 deaths on their roads in the past 12 months.

The first-person footage, filmed on top of the horse, shows the animal trotting across the track when it encounters a white car.

The vehicle waits patiently for the horse to drive safely across the narrow road.

But then out of nowhere a big blue 4×4 car comes from behind and tries to speed past the horse on the same side of the road as the other vehicle.

The rider is forced to suddenly stop the animal while the 4×4 makes the risky overtake move.

The car narrowly avoids hitting the horse as it squeezes past and rides off into the distance.

The animal then continues to trot slowly and the rider appears to gesture in frustration at the dangerous maneuver.

The Highway Code says drivers must be ‘particularly careful’ when overtaking horses and must always give plenty of space.

Cars must also reduce their speed to less than 16 km/h and provide at least two meters of space.

The clip was released alongside other near misses in a montage of chilling incidents created by Staffordshire Police.

The videos were posted on

One clip shows dashcam footage of a car entering the village of Forton on a busy road with vehicles traveling at high speed.

Then a speeding BMW suddenly veers off the side of the road and appears to be racing towards a head-on collision.

In the terrifying video, we see the BMW veer back into its lane at the last minute, narrowly missing the other car.

Another video shows how a driver almost caused a serious accident by driving in the wrong direction at a roundabout.

Dashcam video shows a vehicle driving through the roundabout when suddenly a large blue van appears and appears to be driving straight towards it.

A panicky swerve just barely avoids a traffic jam.

Some heartbreaking clips show cars completely ignoring red lights, including an incident that takes place just as someone is about to cross the road.

In another piece of footage, a cyclist is pedaling along a narrow road when he is almost hit by a van and trailer.

The large vehicle acts as if the cyclist is not there, leaving less than a meter between him and the woman cycling.

The reckless van also almost hits a passing light blue car as it races along at high speed.

A final bizarre but dangerous maneuver is shown when a pickup-style Ford tries to avoid a traffic jam but ends up driving onto the sidewalk.

The car, stuck behind a white truck, mounts the curb and begins driving along the sidewalk to overtake the vehicle.

Fortunately, there were no pedestrians in the way and the vehicle avoided mowing down civilians.

Police released the collection of terrifying clips following a series of road-related deaths in the past year.

A spokesperson for Staffordshire Police added: ‘Over the past year we have seen a high number of fatalities on roads across the county, with 45 people sadly losing their lives.

“Every road death is a tragedy and something we want to avoid.

‘With our new road safety campaign Look Again we want to emphasize that as motorists we all have the opportunity to make our roads safer by taking simple actions.

‘Whether you look at other road users before approaching an intersection, adjust your speed when driving in a busy city center, or take a moment to check a maneuver before you do it, these actions can help you saving lives – and those of other road users.’