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TANKING ALONG
A Russian man in the town of Apatity close to the Arctic Circle recently stole an armoured personnel carrier (APC) from a motorsport facility where it had been parked. He drove through a forest in the APC and then used the armoured vehicle to crash through the windows of a supermarket, crushing a parked car in the process. The man ran inside and stole a bottle of wine, leaving the APC wedged in the window. The supermarket had not been licensed to sell alcohol at that time of day. According to reports. Local police later caught the man, who was intoxicated.
STORAGE FACILITY?
Many UK drivers use their vehicles to store highly unlikely items according to a study. Amongst the more peculiar items kept in cars by their owners are mannequins, a bale of hay, 52 pies, a Ouija board, a false leg, 160 hats, 24 rolling pins, a wicker reindeer, two single mattresses, a hamster cage, parts of a railway engine and a urine container. The study also found that 25% of drivers are ashamed of how dirty their vehicles are with a further 5% admitting to never cleaning their vehicles. The study was commissioned by comparethemarket.com
SLOW DOWN
In the UK a 107-year old woman was given a parking ticket for overstaying the three hour limit where she had left her vehicle, in the parking area of a supermarket. The woman had completed her shopping and then had lunch with a family member and was returning to the car as the ticket was given out. However she simply walked too slowly and was not able to make it back to the vehicle in sufficient time, returning 13 minutes too late. Her disabled badge was displayed prominently in the vehicle but this did not prove sufficient to deter the parking attendant from slapping a ticket on the windscreen. Her family member tried to appeal against the parking ticket but this was ignored and only when the woman herself made a complaint was the charge dropped.
MORE POOL TIME
A woman in the US state of Wisconsin has faced charges following an unusual incident involving the transport of a paddling pool. The woman was driving in her minivan when she was stopped by police, who were rather concerned at the way she was transporting the load. The woman had tied her nine year old son to the roof of the vehicle in a bid to weigh down the plastic paddling pool, which was too bulky to fit inside the minivan. When questioned about her actions by officers, she explained that this was the sort of thing her father used to do so she had assumed it was perfectly safe. She was charged with recklessly endangering the safety of her child.
ANIMAL UNDERMINING
Road repair workers tackling subsidence on a stretch of road in the UK were highly surprised to find the cause of the problem. Badgers digging underneath the road in the scenic Lake District area had caused a localised collapse, resulting in diversions and delays for road users. In all, 20 holes dug by badgers were found in the damaged stretch of road, resulting in a series of repairs having to be carried out. No spokesbadgers were available for comment.
SHEDDING LOADS?
A Honda driver in Newton Abbott in the UK recently caused traffic disruption when he drove through town with a shed strapped to the roof of his vehicle. The driver had not seen fit to secure the load sufficiently and when gusts of wind struck the Honda, the shed lurched and the vehicle suddenly swerved. A single piece of rope had been used to hold the shed in place and the local police gave the man a ticket for failing to secure his load correctly.
HANDS-OFF CORNERS
A Spanish motorcycle rider has been the subject of an investigation for reckless driving after posting videos online. The rider put a number of photos as well as a video of himself on his motorcycle on a number of popular social media sites. Police officers spotted the video and were rather perturbed, as it showed the rider travelling at high speed along a stretch of road noted for its high crash rate. At one point the rider took one of his hands from the handlebars so that he could touch the asphalt while rounding a curve. Officers understandably thought this was a dangerous activity and began investigating to find the name of the rider so that suitable charges could be placed.
EXTRA PASSENGER
An Uber driver in Indonesia had an unusual experience when his vehicle gained an extra passenger, during a journey. The vehicle was travelling in Easy Java and carrying a pregnant woman when she gave birth to a baby boy. This is the second child to be delivered in an Uber vehicle in Indonesia, with a girl having been born during a journey in West Java in April 2017.
CASH FOR CRASH
A crash on a highway in the US state of Illinois resulted in the roadway resembling the aftermath of an illegal gambling game. Three cars were involved in the crash on Interstate 74, which resulted in money being scattered about the scene of the impact. One of the vehicles had been carrying cash from video gambling machines when it was involved in the incident. Officers took an hour to gather up the money and return it to the driver of the crashed vehicle. One of the drivers was injured and taken to hospital.
ORANGE SQUASH
Alert police in Spain spotted a car and a van being driven erratically and decided to stop the two vehicles. To their surprise, the two vehicles were carrying around 3tonnes of fresh oranges, which had somehow been squeezed inside. The drivers claimed that they had come across the oranges lying on the ground and decided it would be a pity to leave them to go to waste. The police were not convinced however and charged them with theft. The prices for oranges can be high at peak season and they are often stolen in Spain, though perhaps not often in such quantity.
