Thursday 26 August 2010

"Swan knocks motorcyclist off bike in Worcestershire"

Spotted by Pensions Minister Former Tory at the BBC:

A man suffered a broken collarbone when he was struck by a low-flying swan and knocked off his motorbike in Worcestershire. The incident happened in Crossway Green, in Stourport-on-Severn, shortly after 1145 BST. West Midlands Ambulance Service said it treated the motorcyclist for his injuries at the scene. He was then taken to hospital for further assessment and treatment, an ambulance service spokeswoman said.

FT goes on to ask:

How did the cows procure this result? It may suggest - to adopt the wording of BBC and tabloid journalism - that there's not only a medium of exchange which cows have and is acceptable to swans, but also communication between the species. We developed unmanned aircraft, the cows trained kamikaze swans.

As a biker, I'm keen to understand new risks and this, frankly, is a concern. Is war declared on two-wheelers?

The short answer would appear to be "Yes":

Austria, 17 July 2009: Motorcyclist and pillion rider badly injured after hitting cow. Cow died at the scene.

Not much of a result from the cow's point of view, so they changed their tactics:

Lower Saxony, 24 May 2010: Motorcyclist slowed down when passing escaped cow at the side of the road. The cow charged him, knocked him off his motorcycle and then gave him a good kicking. Cow not captured until days later.

Austria, 23 August 2010: Cow stood in the way of a motorcyclist who couldn't brake in time. Cow lightly injured, motorcyclist taken to hospital by helicopter.

3 comments:

formertory said...

Hell's teeth. I'll have to hope they stick to trained pheasants then, when I'm out and about. Messy, but no damage (so far)... :o)

Nick Drew said...

hmm - a bit tougher than grizzlies, then ...

DBC Reed said...

Big problem with low flying pigeons round here.They fly straight at your windscreen and veer off at the last moment (so far).