Skip to main content

How many wheels?

A British driver was so affected by alcohol that he did not realise his car had shed a front wheel after he collided with a wall. The man drove for around 1.6km after hitting the wall, with sparks trailing behind his car and risking igniting the vehicle. He drove the car 13km from his home to the centre of a nearby town, after consuming a bottle of wine for reasons that have not been fully explained. On reaching his destination, he parked his battered Seat car and staggered across the road where he was prom
October 9, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A British driver was so affected by alcohol that he did not realise his car had shed a front wheel after he collided with a wall. The man drove for around 1.6km after hitting the wall, with sparks trailing behind his car and risking igniting the vehicle. He drove the car 13km from his home to the centre of a nearby town, after consuming a bottle of wine for reasons that have not been fully explained. On reaching his destination, he parked his battered 3068 Seat car and staggered across the road where he was promptly arrested by officers who had been called to the scene. Dressed in pyjamas at the time of his arrest, he seemed somewhat dazed according to the officers and he later explained that he was unable to remember anything about his journey. He was banned from driving for a year and had to pay a hefty fine.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Skeleton crew
    June 27, 2014
    Police stopped a student driving a Peugeot car that had been partially stripped of parts. The vehicle had no doors, lights or bonnet (hood) and the driver was using hand signals to indicate direction. He had driven the vehicle 5km on his way to a recycling centre to scrap the vehicle when stopped, having previously removed other parts to sell online.
  • Tackling the UK's traffic congestion
    February 28, 2012
    The biggest problem on UK roads is congestion, and there is no shortage of ideas as to how it should be tackled. Patrick Smith reports. Congestion (and how to relieve it), along with safety, are among the top priorities facing those responsible for looking after the UK's roads. Road pricing, car-share lanes, greener vehicle initiatives and alternative methods of transport such as buses, trams and rail are all part of the approach, but prior to the current economic climate the nation's love affair with the c
  • Modelling skills
    May 14, 2014
    Two Lego enthusiasts have used their enthusiasm for the versatile plaything to build a full scale car. The vehicle is able to be driven as well and can attain speeds of up to 20-30km/h using its compressed air motor. Its builders say they were wary of attempting to drive it at a higher speed in case it fell apart. The open top car is made of some 500,000 pieces of Lego and feaures a novel four bank, radial engine design powered by compressed air with no less than 256 pistons. Only the wheels and a few load
  • From managed asset to service provider: the future highway
    May 20, 2019
    Every day we hear about Mobility as a Service (MaaS), but what about Roads as a Service? Geoff Hadwick reports from the ERF in Brussels The familiar physical asset called the road will increasingly be seen as part of an emerging global services sector. Given that, the role of the road is changing, notes Christophe Nicodème, general director of the European Union Road Federation (ERF). We need to think much more carefully about planning highway infrastructure in terms of people’s needs, said Nicodème,