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A driver in China had a very close call in an incident that resembled something from an action film. The man was driving his pickup truck along a major highway when a 1.5m diameter circular saw blade burst from the undergrowth and slammed head-on into his vehicle. Luckily for the driver the saw blade collided with a major structural element of the pickup truck, halting its progress. He was able to bring his vehicle to a halt in the emergency lane, with the huge saw embedded in the radiator of the pickup, di

Different road rules are in place in many parts of the world, with some proving rather peculiar. In the US state of Kentucky, women are permitted to drive while wearing a bikini, as long as they either have a weapon to hand for self-defence or are sitting alongside two police officers. Meanwhile in Germany, driving in the nude is permitted as a car is regarded legally as a private space. Should the driver be at the wheel barefoot however, making insurance claims in the event of a crash would be difficult. I

In the UK, Hungerford Common has a bylaw allowing cows to wander freely. But it was recently suggested that cows should be dressed in reflective jackets with luminous detailing and flashing lights so as to boost safety. Apparently there is concern from the local authorities that cows could be hard to see and that they could present a hazard to passing motorists. The herders commented that it might make more sense to lower the speed of vehicles in the area and also suggested that any motorists unable to s

The driver of a stretch limousine in the US found out that his vehicle should stay on the right side of the tracks. The long wheelbase car had been rented by teenagers, celebrating a birthday in the US state of Indiana. However when the driver attempted to cross the rail tracks, the car became stranded on top with both axles clear of the ground. The teenagers and the driver got out of the vehicle safely and attempted to warn the driver of an oncoming goods train. However the heavily laden train was unable t

Circus elephants took out their anger and frustration on parked cars recently in Denmark. One of the animals was wading in the sea and was hit by a trainer for not following his instructions. The animal reacted by breaking free along with two others, chasing tourists and battering a number of cars. A woman was knocked to the ground and suffered slight injuries. The circus said however that the tourists should not have been so close to the elephants and claimed that as the cars should not have been parked th

A number of visitors to South Africa’s famous Kruger National Park had a rather close-up view of a lion attacking an antelope recently. The drivers were sitting in their cars when a lion sprang at an antelope, tearing at its throat and killing the unfortunate animal almost instantly. This was photographed in graphic detail by the visitors, although some rather rashly opened their car windows so as to get a better view. Only a short time previously a visitor to the park was killed when a lion pounced through

A woman in the UK was spotted by a cyclist eating her breakfast cereal while driving her children to school. The cyclist remonstrated with the woman for her behaviour, receiving insults in reply. Infuriated at her attitude, the cyclist then posted footage online of the incident that he had filmed with his helmet-mounted camera. This attracted thousands of views and numerous comments, before the incident was reported in the press. The woman subsequently handed herself in to the police and was charged for mot

In China an irate man used a wheeled loader with which to display his anger, forcing police to intervene. The man had recently found a job driving the wheeled loader following a period of unemployment. While out of work, the man had fallen out of favour with his in-laws, his father-in-law particularly so. While trying to make amends with his father-in-law and his, by now, estranged wife and children, the man became involved in a heated argument. In a display of anger, he then drove the wheeled loader at his

An American cyclist suffered a road rage attack from a rather unusual source recently. The cyclist went to retrieve his bicycle and was intrigued to see that a squirrel was sitting on the saddle and sizing up the handlebars. The cyclist was amused but when he got too close, the squirrel sprang at him and the man retreated accordingly. Bicycle-riding animals are rare although chimpanzees and even dogs have been trained to do so. Quite how the squirrel intended to ride the bicycle away is unclear.

A German driver has had a rather abrupt reminder as to why it is necessary to look properly before pulling out at a junction. The driver, a young woman, drove her small VW from a side road and straight into the path of an oncoming British Army tank, which was on its way to military manoeuvres. Luckily for the woman, the tank driver was rather more attentive and he managed to halt his heavy-armoured vehicle before it completely crushed the car. Fortunately the VW’s driver was unhurt in the incident, although

Many motorcyclists are well aware that car drivers do not look properly before manoeuvring, which is borne out by analysis of crash results. But one lucky biker in Australia found to his surprise that one car driver was even less aware than usual. The motorcycle rider was waiting at a junction when a 4x4, which had come to a halt ahead of the stop line when the lights changed, suddenly reversed. Seeing the car about to impact, the biker jumped aside from his motorcycle. The 4x4 driver, a learner, ignored th

A quick-thinking excavator operator managed to come to the aid of an elephant in danger in Kenya. The fact that the animal was both large and strong did not prevent it from facing death when it became trapped in a mud pool. Such incidents are not uncommon and generally result in death for a trapped elephant. But hearing the elephant shrieking in distress nearby, the excavator operator quickly drove his machine to the side of the mud pool and by carefully digging around the trapped animal, was able to help i