Skip to main content

The badger excuse

A driver in the UK had a rather unusual explanation following a crash involving his vehicle. He had been transporting a load of dead badgers that had been killed following a somewhat controversial cull, a move intended to halt the spread of disease amongst cattle. The man’s excuse was that the police radio he had been given, so as to help him avoid any animal rights protestors, had fallen from his grasp and under the brake pedal.
June 27, 2014 Read time: 1 min
A driver in the UK had a rather unusual explanation following a crash involving his vehicle. He had been transporting a load of dead badgers that had been killed following a somewhat controversial cull, a move intended to halt the spread of disease amongst cattle. The man’s excuse was that the police radio he had been given, so as to help him avoid any animal rights protestors, had fallen from his grasp and under the brake pedal. The man claimed this prevented him from stopping in time, resulting in the crash. Police investigating the incident however believed him to have fallen asleep at the wheel, a scenario the court thought correct and he was given penalty points and fined accordingly.

Related Content

  • UK’s M6 tolled motorway for sale
    June 21, 2016
    For sale: one UK toll motorway along with operating business. Well maintained. Price negotiable. David Arminas looks at what is on offer As if right on cue, a French articulated truck starts to back up along the hard shoulder at an exit area of M6toll. The manoeuvring is watched from an office inside the nearby M6toll headquarters. Inside, Andy Pearson, chief executive of M6toll, glances over his shoulder and interrupts his presentation to World Highways. “He’s probably missed the dedicated wide-load
  • That new car smell
    October 12, 2017
    A man in the UK recently picked up his brand new Ferrari from the dealer, having arranged the purchase earlier. Just one hour later the man was being helped, bruised and battered but not seriously hurt, from the smouldering wreckage of the car. The driver had lost control on a rain-soaked motorway, plunging off the road. Emergency services responded quickly, rescuing the man from his smashed Ferrari 430 Scuderia.
  • Motorbike accidents in Italy fell 9% in 2010
    April 25, 2012
    According to a report by ACI and Istat, the number of accidents involving two-wheeled vehicles in Italy fell 9% year-on-year in 2010 to 74,367 incidents. The number of deaths has fallen 20% since 2007, although 103 motorcyclists were killed by collisions with fixed objects.
  • The financial cost of crashes in the US
    February 1, 2023
    The financial cost of road crashes in the US places a heavy burden.