Central Park horse carriage rides resume a week after tourist died in an accident

Horse carriage operations started back up Tuesday in New York City's Central Park, less than one week after an 18-year-old tourist died in a collision that led drivers to voluntarily suspend business. Carriage drivers spent days going over safety rules and protocols in response to the death of Romanch Mahajan, who was fatally injured on a ride through the park with his family. Horse carriage drivers end temporary pauseTWU Local 100, the union representing carriage drivers, called for the temporary shutdown after the collision last Wednesday. Drivers went through refresher training and safety checks, the union said. "We've taken unprecedented steps in order to make sure that our business continues to be the safest form of transportation in Midtown Manhattan," said TWU Local 100 shop steward Christina Hansen.  A major part of the training centered on properly tethering and securing the horse when the driver is not in the carriage. "Emphasizing most notable the importance of there never being passengers in the carriage unless there is a driver in the box with the lines in their hand," Hansen said. The union said last week's accident reinforced their long-standing fight for hitching posts in Central Park to prevent future accidents when horses get startled and run off, which they believe is what happened in Mahajan's death. Renewed calls for horse carriage banMahajan and his family were visiting from India when, according to police, their driver stepped off the carriage to take a photo of them and the horse suddenly bolted, throwing Mahajan onto the pavement.The incident renewed calls from local leaders and animal activists who have long pushed for a ban on the century-old business in New York City. "We are outraged and bewildered that the City is allowing these rides to resume. The carriage industry itself has spent the past week insisting that major changes are needed to operate safely, yet these rides are already back on the streets," said Edita Birnkrant, executive director of New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets, which is pushing to permanently end the city's horse carriage industry."This is a knee-jerk reaction to the worst possible scenario that they were warned about, and they never cared. Suddenly they care?" said Michael Petrelli, with Equine Advocacy Alliance. The horse, named Sampson, is stabled and said to be doing OK, but is unlikely to return to pulling carriages. The investigation into exactly what caused the horse to stray is ongoing. "We do not know what spooked the horse. This was not something that was typical for this horse or really for any of our horses. So, we are, again, trying to figure out exactly what happened," said Hansen. The driver involved has been suspended indefinitely.Legislation to ban horse-drawn carriages, recently renamed "Romanch's Law," will be at the center of a City Council hearing in July.