Runaway ostrich causes traffic chaos

Rush hour in the town of Tunbridge Wells took a humorous turn yesterday when a runaway ostrich shot past cars at speeds of over 40mph, with a clear disregard for road conditions, traffic and speed limits.

Alarmingly, the rogue bird is still on the run from police and there are fears it could cause carnage in the town centre, as the RSCPA warns fully-grown ostriches max out at around 60mph.

On Bing: see pictures of runaway ostriches

Cars named after animals

If the ostrich were to collide with an individual, its lack of crumple zones means the pedestrian could be badly injured and, as far we’re aware, ostriches are yet to be put through strict Euro NCAP crash tests. UK laws class the ostrich as a dangerous animal, meaning it really shouldn’t be on the roads.

An RSPCA spokesman said:

“We are concerned that this bird is running loose and may get hurt or cause an accident and we would urge the owners to come forward and try to recapture their bird.

“We wouldn’t encourage people to approach this bird if they see it.”

Traffic mayhem followed the ostrich’s antics in the Kent town, with locals reporting queuing in excess of 20 minutes to get past the bird, between 8.30am and 9am yesterday.

One motorist caught in the queue told the Daily Mail:

“There was a queue of about 20 cars pulled over and I assumed it was a lorry coming down.

“I noticed a couple of people getting out of their cars and others leaning out of their windows and taking pictures.

“Then I saw this young perky ostrich confidently gambolling down the road, with its funny gait. It came right up to our window and looked at us.”

Find out how much a used car costs on Auto Trader

On Bing: see pictures of runaway ostriches

Cars named after animals

By motoringresearch.com