Motorist Sacked For Deliberately Driving Into Puddles To Splash Pedestrians

Ever been splashed on a rainy day, as a passing driver decides it'd be utterly hilarious to drive through the puddles at the side of the road and leave you in severe need of a tumble dryer and a towel? Shite, isn't it? But you'll be glad to hear that the perpetrators run the risk of losing their jobs - as happened to one driver in Ottowa, Canada.

In the UK, there's a law against splashing pedestrians in the Road Traffic Act (1998), where it states that you can't drive 'without reasonable consideration for other persons'. It could set you back a fair few quid as well, because if you're caught you could get yourself a £5,000 fine.

This guy in Canada might have wished he'd just been issued with the fine, however, after being caught driving through puddles in order to splash pedestrians with water for a cheap laugh.

The driver, who worked for the contracting company Black and McDonald Limited in Canada, was caught on dash cam swerving into huge puddles to deliberately splash the public near to the University of Ottawa.

PA

The 45-second video was later posted on YouTube and quickly went viral, receiving over 770,000 views - many of which were complaints about the driver's behaviour.

The guys at Black and MacDonald also saw the video and deemed the mean prank as an act of anti-social behaviour. They decided to take action against the driver, thus giving him the boot from their respectable company.

A statement released by Black and MacDonald Limited said: "We apologise to everyone impacted by the recent incident in Ottawa of unacceptable driving by one of our van drivers. We want to reassure the public that safety is our #1 priority.

"This is an isolated incident and the individual is no longer employed with Black & McDonald."

Saif Khan

Ottawa police Sergeant Mark Gatien told the Ottawa Citizen that the driver could have faced criminal charges including mischief or assault because there was no doubt that the driver's behaviour was in fact deliberate.

He went on to say that the weight of the water flying at pedestrians could have led to injuries, which could warrant an assault charge.

Luckily for the driver, he will not face any charges from the incident. He did lose his job though, which definitely isn't lucky for him.

So take note, pranksters - don't go splashing your way through giant puddles. Unless you want a hefty fine with no wages to pay it.

Topics: World News, Canada

Megan Walsh

Megan is a freelance journalist and sub-editor with a BAHons degree in Journalism and Communications. Since graduating from London Metropolitan University, she has worked as a sub-editor and writer for Candis Magazine and later contributed to publications such as The Skinny, Creative Tourist and Huffington Post, among others.