Skip to main content

A Wrong Turn

In the UK a pensioner made a wrong turn that could have ended in disaster. As the 85 year-old woman drove her car across a level crossing, she inexplicably turned onto the railway tracks and then proceeded to drive along them. She drove her Peugeot for some 75m before the car stopped, blocking the busy main line between London's Waterloo station and Bournemouth. The woman and her 20 year-old relative quickly got out of the car and the incident was immediately reported. Train services were stopped until the
April 16, 2012 Read time: 1 min
In the UK a pensioner made a wrong turn that could have ended in disaster. As the 85 year-old woman drove her car across a level crossing, she inexplicably turned onto the railway tracks and then proceeded to drive along them. She drove her 3504 Peugeot for some 75m before the car stopped, blocking the busy main line between London's Waterloo station and Bournemouth. The woman and her 20 year-old relative quickly got out of the car and the incident was immediately reported. Train services were stopped until the vehicle could be removed by the emergency services. The woman was treated for shock by paramedics. It is not clear why she made this mistake or how she confused the railway tracks for the road she had wished to take however.
 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • On track
    May 20, 2015
    A drunk driver in Dortmund, Germany caused commuter consternation when he mistakenly drove his Ford car onto tram tracks at a stretch where they ran along the surface. The line then dipped underground and the driver was unable to turn round, driving on until coming to a halt in an underground station. He stopped at the station and got out of his vehicle, leaving it on the tracks. Two police officers arrested him and bundled him away, leaving the transport officials with the job of moving the car. They had t
  • Love hurts
    May 20, 2015
    A British woman had rather a nasty shock while taking her young child to see African wildlife at a safari park in the UK. An amorous male rhinoceros first sniffed at her car and then repeatedly bashed into it, apparently mistaking it for a female of the species. Around €693 (£500) worth of damage was caused to the car, a grey Mitsubishi Warrior pick-up truck, although the woman and her toddler were unharmed. Luckily her choice of vehicle gave her and her child some protection against the over-excited creatu
  • Open and shut case
    February 21, 2012
    Two British police officers were surprised to see a woman driving her car with the bonnet (hood) open. They stopped the woman who explained that the bonnet was faulty and that she was taking the car to a garage to be repaired. She had been squinting through a small 100mm high gap between the dashboard and bonnet as she drove her car to the garage. The incident was recorded by police in the UK county of Dorset where the authorities have been cracking down on bad driving. In another case, police stopped a man
  • Wrong time to end right turns?
    March 15, 2024
    Banning right-hand turns after stopping for a red light is gaining momentum in the US. But debate continues about whether it will result in fewer incidents between vehicles and alternative mobility users. David Arminas reports.