Skip to main content

Cause for offence

A British woman called the police to report that her scarecrow had been stolen, only to discover that the scarecrow had in fact been taken into custody by the police. The offending scarecrow had been placed outside a village dressed in a high visibility jacket and a police uniform, to highlight a scarecrow festival in the village.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A British woman called the police to report that her scarecrow had been stolen, only to discover that the scarecrow had in fact been taken into custody by the police. The offending scarecrow had been placed outside a village dressed in a high visibility jacket and a police uniform, to highlight a scarecrow festival in the village. The local police had been informed that this would take place and had given their approval. However when police drove past they spotted that the scarecrow also sported a fake radar detector made of cardboard. Realising that the fake cardboard radar gun posed a safety potential hazard and could have caused passing drivers to become alarmed, the police rushed the offending scarecrow into a police vehicle and took it to the local police station. A spokesperson explained that impersonating a police officer is an offence and added that the scarecrow sent an inappropriate message to motorists. The scarecrow maker commented that the fake radar gun was actually intended to encourage motorists to slow down.

Related Content

  • Road safety improving, but vulnerable road users need protection
    January 11, 2013
    Preliminary data from France over the number of fatalities on the road network reveal safety improvements during 2012. The numbers killed dropped by 7-8%, although the final figures for December are not yet available. The preliminary figures suggest that around 3,600-3,700 were killed on French roads in 2012, compared with 3,970 in 2011. This reduction is in line with targets on cutting the death rate and Ministry of the Interior wants to bring the fatality rate to just 2,000 by 2020. This reduction has bee
  • Beware camels
    August 23, 2016
    A woman driver in Russia discovered to her cost just how bad-tempered camels can be. The woman was driving her Toyota from the Astrakhan region to Penza at night when a group of camels crossed the road in front of her, blocking the way. She beeped her horn at the animals in a bid to encourage them to move out of the way, succeeding instead in infuriating the notoriously grumpy camels. The animals then proceeded to wreck her car, although the attack was short-lived, luckily. Both she and her two child passen
  • Noisy signs from Sphere
    July 10, 2020
    Keep it quiet! Sphere’s noise limit warning sign detects oncoming vehicles and, based on the noise they are making, displays a warning message for drivers to ease up on the accelerator.
  • Reduced traffic may not mean fewer crashes
    May 8, 2020
    Reduced traffic may not mean that there are fewer crashes on the world’s roads.