Highway Horror !

A " Tradie " had an unsetlling experience in Queensland this week.  This 27 year old Gladstone man had been working at an outlaying homestead and when the job was finished was heading back into the city in the late afternoon.  He was driving at the legal speed limit of 100 kph when he noticed " movement " on the floor of his ute, and discovered that he had an unwanted " passenger ".

It was a fully grown eastern brown snake, rated as one of the most venemous reptiles of the many types that are common to this country.  His first thought was to stop and get out of his ute, but when he moved his foot to the brake the snake began to coil around his leg and showed aggression by striking at the front edge of the seat he was sitting on.

He grabbed a work knife that was laying on the passenger seat and began a fight for survival with the snake, all the while keeping his foot off the brake and careering down the highway at a hundred kph.  It was an unnerving battle keeping from running off the road while inflicting damage on the snake but he emerged victorious.   He threw the dead snake in the tray and - certain that he had been bitten - took off at high speed to try and get to a hospital which would have the necessary anti-venom on hand.

That ute travelling  well above the speeed limit drew the attention of a highway patrol car and the distressed driver was happy to see flashing lights in his rear view mirror.  The speed cop heard his story and saw the dead snake and used his radio to summon help.  Time is of the essence in dealing with snake bite and an ambulance was quickly summonsed to make a high speed dash to rhe scene.

Fortuitously, the medical examination showed no sign of the telltale punctures a snake bite would have inflicted and it was not necessary to inject the driver with anti-venene.  The police also waived any thought of issueing a speeding ticket and that tradie continued his journey with a story that would leave his family spellbound.

Finding a snake beneath your feet while driving a vehicle would be the ultimate horror most people could imagine.  The Australian continent comes with a big range of venemous snakes of various types and they are known for their curiosity and tendency to investigate cars that attract their attention.

It is not a good idea to park a vehicle with the door open or the windows lowered anywhere snakes may be present.   Even having a picnic with the boot raised is an invitatiion  to a curious snake to climb in and make an inspection.  Most snakes are not aggressive and if left alone will eventually depart, but trying to remove them can easily end in a snake bite.    That Tradie would be well advised to buy a lottery ticket while his luck still holds !