And finally… splashing drivers caught

People across England and Wales have gotten in touch with police forces, accusing drivers of deliberately driving through standing water in order to splash passers by.

Some complaints even accused police officers of the practice.

Splashing is governed by section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and is punishable by a fixed penalty notice.

The Press Association obtained the figures following a freedom of information request.

Six forces had details on splashing with 63 reporting incidents of motorists going through puddles and splashing people over a five year period since 2009.

In one of the 38 cases recorded by South Wales police, an officer was made to apologise after driving a 4x4 through standing water.

In another case a pedestrian complained that a bus driver accelerated in order to ensure the soaking of pedestrians on the pavement.

A van driver was issued a ticket after driving “back and forth through a large puddle to intentionally splash pedestrians”.

One witness in another case reported how a presumably disturbed “young male driver was swerving all along” the Knapp in Stroud, “driving into puddles on purpose to splash school children walking home”.

Mike Frisby, the Driving Instructors Association chief examiner, said motorists have a “duty of care” to avoid splashing walkers.

He came back with: “It’s probably not widely known by pedestrians that they can report incidents if they’re splashed, but we don’t really want to engage in a culture where people are going to report every little incident.

“The driver has an obligation to plan well, as there is always a danger when driving through a puddle because even in shallow water drivers won’t know what lurks beneath.”