mooo-ve over...

This story from the BBC caught my eye:

Pile-up as cow strays on motorway
An escaped cow caused a five-car pile-up when it strayed on to a major motorway in West Lothian. Motorists and passengers escaped with minor injuries after the animal wandered onto the eastbound carriageway of the M9 near Winchburgh.
As the first vehicle dodged the lost cow, it collided with another car - starting a five-car crash. Two fire engines were called to the scene at about 2130 BST on Tuesday. The cow died at the scene. Sgt David Gray, of Lothian and Borders Police, said: "The people had a pretty lucky escape. Unfortunately the animal did not."

This just goes to show what we all know and should repeat to ourselves when we get in the car: Always expect the unexpected.

Cows are reasonably large and slow moving objects (as a rule they don't suddenly materialise in your lane), so the fact this accident caused a five car pile up probably goes to highlight something we all know: drivers drive far too close on motorways and do not look far enough ahead.

Young motorists found to take more 'deadly risks'

The revelations of a new road safety study from the charity Brake probably don't leave many of us surprised. They have found that young motorists are more likely than older people to take "extreme and life-threatening" risks while driving.

Brake found that 33% of the drivers aged 17-24 it surveyed admitted overtaking on a blind bend, compared to 9% of older drivers. Government transport statistics show more than 14 young drivers and their passengers die every week in Britain. The survey questioned 4,640 UK drivers, 533 of whom were aged between 17 and 24.

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[source: BBC]