Summer can be an annoying time for drivers. When the weather turns nice, people want to use the roads a lot more. Not just cars either — local authorities around the world stage sporting events on their highways.
There’s few things more irritating than finding your path blocked because people are cycling or running on it instead. But however bothersome you find it, we doubt you’d ever considered just driving on it anyway.
Well, welcome to Plymouth. The Navy town on England’s pretty Devon coast stages a half-marathon every year. The 13.1-mile route varies little and the council places yellow warning signs advising of road closures a week before the event. The local newspaper, its website and the event’s website also detail every single road closure well in advance. We stress that this is not a one-off — this race happens every year at this time.
For one local woman, this is apparently not enough information. Nor are the traffic cones and phalanx of runners an indication that the way is shut. No, for her, they are mere advisories which she can ignore if she is late to work. Despite best efforts to reason with her, and one man actually standing in front of her, she drives straight into the course.
Europe is pretty touchy about cars being where they shouldn’t be right now. A number of recent terrorist events started with perpetrators driving a vehicle into crowds. The Plymouth Half Marathon is an unlikely target, but even so you can understand the shocked reactions of the runners. The comments start with “Are you ****ing stupid?” (a reasonable question in the circumstances) and degenerate from there.
Loudly exclaiming that she’s had no information about this event, the woman defends her actions by stating that she’s late, and only drove very slowly. Well, that’s all okay then, isn’t it?
Devon and Cornwall Police commented:
Police have been made aware of the incident that took place during the Plymouth Half Marathon this weekend, which it is alleged that a woman drove her vehicle onto a live running route. We believe that no injuries were caused by this action.
Officers from the roads policing unit are aware of this incident and enquiries are underway into this matter.
You can watch the whole video below — and the fun (and swearing) starts at 2:45:
