Half a protest

A British man cut his own car in half as a protest after being fined for having it parked illegally on the road, despite the fact that it was in his own driveway at the time. One wheel of the vehicle had been protruding onto the pavement (sidewalk) by a mere 50mm and the car had been registered by its owner as being off-road, without the annual license duty being paid. However when the man returned from work he discovered that it had been clamped and was told by the authorities that it would be towed away.
July 30, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A British man cut his own car in half as a protest after being fined for having it parked illegally on the road, despite the fact that it was in his own driveway at the time. One wheel of the vehicle had been protruding onto the pavement (sidewalk) by a mere 50mm and the car had been registered by its owner as being off-road, without the annual license duty being paid. However when the man returned from work he discovered that it had been clamped and was told by the authorities that it would be towed away. He responded by taking a circular saw and cutting it in half, saying that the authorities were welcome to take the rear end of the vehicle. The fire brigade and police were called as the vehicle caught fire during the cutting process but the fire was quickly put out and the police declined to intervene.

Related Content

  • Short cuts
    March 21, 2012
    A construction worker in New York City took matters into his own hands when his friend started arguing with a policewoman who was busy placing a parking ticket on their van. The man took out a disc cutter and sliced off the parking meter at which their vehicle was parked, perhaps taking inspiration from a character played by movie star Paul Newman in the classic film Cool Hand Luke.
    Read More
  • Safer roads needed for the gig economy
    May 14, 2019
    Roads everywhere are becoming high-pressure workplaces for millions of gig economy workers, meaning traffic police need a new way to regulate how highways are used. Geoff Hadwick reports from Manchester, UK The way in which the world’s highways are designed, built and used needs to change fast as the gig economy becomes a global phenomenon. Millions of low-paid and badly-trained freelance drivers are now using road as their workplace, all of them working hard under huge amounts of pressure. The tren
    Read More
  • UK survey finds bad driving makes you less attractive
    August 27, 2015
    Bad driving makes people significantly attractiveness to potential partners, with women finding it especially so, according to a recent UK survey. Many people have wondered if poor driving skills put a dampener on romance and the survey from the Institute of Advanced Motorists appears to confirm this. Bad drivers were found to be 50% less attractive than motorists with good skills.
    Read More
  • The father of asset management speaks on the development of the concept
    May 24, 2016
    World Highways caught up with man who developed the concept of asset management for roads in the 1960s. Dr Ralph Haas is still researching in his native Canada, and commenting on potholes. The e-mail was brief. “You won't believe this, but I think I'm the last person on the planet without a cell phone.” That was quite an admission from Ralph Haas, distinguished Canadian professor emeritus. He was one of several civil engineers in the 1960s who developed the concept of managing roads as an integrated
    Read More

Highlighted Content