‘The Highway Code does not forbid the splashing of pedestrians’

Outrage in the road lobby – a driver failed her test because she drove through a puddle and splashed a pedestrian. The war on the motorist never ends, does it?

Miss Kelly said: 'It was a small kerbside puddle. I didn't see it but I did drive through it because I saw it splash a pedestrian. It wasn't a big splash - it was only small and I didn't think I had committed a fault so carried on driving and concentrating on my test.

'But when I pulled in at the centre the examiner said he'd failed me. 'He then spoke at length about the splashing and told me it constituted a traffic offence and he was treating it as a road accident. He said that because I had splashed the pedestrian I should have pulled the car over and exchanged details with him.' She added: 'It was obvious I didn't do it on purpose and I didn't really think that much of it at the time but he said it was a fault.'

Missing from this story of agonising human suffering is the perspective of the splattered pedestrian, who might well have a different point of view. In any case, a driver should always take note of the road ahead and be prepared for hazards. Amazingly, instead of telling Ms. Kelly to get lost Officials have promised to carry out an investigation into the incident.