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

  • Road safety of concern in Sweden and Israel
    January 8, 2015
    Worrying data on road safety has been released from Sweden and Israel. Sweden’s record on road safety is one of the best in the world, with a combination of tough enforcement and stiff penalties along with effective driver education and training having helped lower the country’s fatality rate. However the latest official figures from the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) show that 275 people were killed on Swedish roads in 2014, compared with 260 people in 2013. This may yet prove to be a stat
  • UK to deploy 3D laser scanning technology for post-crash analysis
    March 1, 2012
    UK government roads minister Mike Penning yesterday announced the roll-out of 3D laser scanning technology to shorten road closure times after crashes.
  • Addressing a silent disaster
    September 24, 2012
    As India's economy registers 9% annual growth, promising material super-power status by mid-century, the nation is barely beginning to address a silent disaster, that of road casualties It was Dr. P K Sikdar [a director of International Consultants and Technocrats/ICT and a former director of the Central Road Research Institute/CRRI] who coined the phrase "silent disaster."
  • Air freight
    February 21, 2012
    In Switzerland, an Opel delivery van had to be airlifted from a mountain, following a navigation error by its driver. The driver followed the directions given by his satellite navigation system, which told him to follow a narrow track that wound slowly upwards.