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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To have phoned the police over some stranded Ducklings on the M4 central reservation!?

116 replies

rosieposey · 27/05/2013 21:00

So I get on the M4 today at junction 15 (i live locally so was only going to junc 16) and im speeding up nicely in the outside lane, it was really busy today when i notice a mother duck and 4 teeny tiny baby ducklings against the concrete central reservation all huddled there with cars going past at 80 plus mph Shock I did not know what to do whereas my first instinct was to pull over and rescue them (Illegal and suicidal) i was so worried they would get flattened.

Anyway i phoned 999 because it was an emergency (sort of) and the call despatcher agreed with me that they were a hazard and, if god forbid they had started walking back out into the fast lane then it would have been bad for the little duck family but i was equally worried that some peoples instinct would have been to swerve or brake at high speed.

Anyway i went off at junc 16 to pick up DH and DS from softplay then drove back to the motorway and down to 15 again and they were gone :) The call despatcher said he was passing it on to highways straight away and it had been about half an hour since i had first noticed the Duck and ducklings till i drove past again so surely they were saved right? I think there would have been evidence if they hadnt made it but im all worried and a bit sad that i didnt know the outcome - i know you cant ring the police back to ask so what do you all think?

Half an hour was enough time for someone to be dispatched, stop the traffic on the motorway and scoop up mum and babies right?

Also i was going to ask any duck experts if ducks stay stationary when they are scared? Only because i thought afterwards that the motorway was so busy that there was no way she and her babies could have crossed those three lanes unless it was the dead of night and that maybe she had been there with her babies all night and morning because she was so terrified? Usually central reservations on motorways you can walk under but this was solid concrete and she just could not get any further ( nor i suspect get back to safety ) someone please tell me that she was saved and then i can get some sleep!

OP posts:
PotteringAlong · 27/05/2013 21:04

My gut instinct is that they are ducks and you were insane to call 999 but I see your point about the swerving so I'm going to sit on the fence!

LEMisdisappointed · 27/05/2013 21:05

Of course she was saved!! And all her ickle babies :)

oldendaysending · 27/05/2013 21:06

Aww pray for happy ending. Wonder how on earth they got there in the first place!?

Snazzywaitingforsummer · 27/05/2013 21:13

I'm no duck expert but I really hope it ended well! Can you call the police back (not on 999 of course) and ask? Smile

breatheslowly · 27/05/2013 21:15

I think you we're right to call. People do have nasty accidents trying to avoid fluffy things. Also the highways agency could then make the call as to whether to do something or not, you just provided the information for them to make a decision. I wish I could say that I was on the M4 and saw them being rescued, but I wasn't.

Original poster
rosieposey · 27/05/2013 21:16

Well I did hesitate about phoning the police at first but then I reasoned they were animals in the fast lane on a busy motorway so could have caused a terrible accident - I'm a conscientious citizen so did what I thought was best - the dispatcher seemed to take it seriously so I'm just hoping Alls well that ended well.

I reckon she must have crossed during the night and wouldn't have been able to get any further than the concrete dividing each side of the m4 so just froze with fear :( it could have been bad as you just don't know if someone would have tried to stop or swerve, I hope they are all in nice warm hen/duck house tonight.

OP posts:
LadyBeagleEyes · 27/05/2013 21:17

I so need a happy end to this story.
Bless those little ducks.

pinkballetflats · 27/05/2013 21:18

I called for chickens on the M6 - didn't like the idea of them being flattened...liked the idea of someone instinctually swerving/breaking and losing control...like the idea even less that a child coulld be in the swerving/breaking car....or in a car hit by the swerving car.

You did the right and responsible thing.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 27/05/2013 21:18

Op, you have to call back and find out what happened! Don't leave us hanging...

TravelinColour · 27/05/2013 21:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

directoroflegacy · 27/05/2013 21:20

I have done similar a while ago- you were right as a driver's instinct may have been to swerve causing an accident

CajaDeLaMemoria · 27/05/2013 21:20

We called the RSPCA for ducks on our street once, who then fell down the road grill. They sent the police, who called the fire brigade. They closed all the roads, and went down into the sewers to push them back up.

They were ever so nice, and very glad we'd called them out.

I'm sure they were very happy for you to have done so, too. Not only did they save the ducks, but they avoided an accident. That's excellent work :)

Deadhamsterssmell · 27/05/2013 21:22

You did the right thing, both for the ducks and for other road users.

I'm sure the police will have managed to herd them safely across the road in that time. Though an update would be good if you hear anything...

Raaraathenoisybaby · 27/05/2013 21:22

Yanbu - they were definitely a hazard. I have called emergency services to rescue birds before Grin

Smartiepants79 · 27/05/2013 21:24

Not unreasonable at all.
I know of a girl who died in a nasty car accident caused by her swerving to avoid a rabbit. Awful
Fluffy duck life saving aside they would have been a serious hazard.
Glad they got them.
In that situation the 999 dispatcher would be able to decide if it is an emergency or not.

Pobblewhohasnotoes · 27/05/2013 21:24

Aw, I hope those ducks are ok!

Original poster
rosieposey · 27/05/2013 21:26

Ok spoke to BIL who has domestic ducks and he said that apparently when they hear a noise they just freeze so that would make sense wrt her being there all night and morning. I can't call back as that would be wasting police time but if anybody knows any police or highways agency/dispatchers in the Swindon area could you ask of anyone knows anything?

I want ducklings now - they were soooo tiny and cute Grin don't think they would appreciate my fully decked back garden though.

OP posts:
blobandsnail · 27/05/2013 21:29

YWNBU! Forget the people who may have crashed their cars if they did cross the road, the safety of the mummy and her babies was far more important! But then I am a crazy animal lover.

I'm sure they were saved. I saw one of those traffic cop programmes a while ago with something similar. They set up a rolling road block further up the motorway while they led the ducks to safety.

Well done you for not ignoring them.

changeforthebetter · 27/05/2013 21:30

Awww! also sounds like a sensible call given the potential hazard. WineThanks

claraschu · 27/05/2013 21:34

One of my favourite books is "Make Way for Ducklings", a classic children's book about ducklings in this situation in Boston. It is a fantastic book, which, like many great American books, never made it across the pond.

BristolFashion · 27/05/2013 21:38

Years ago I phoned the police when I saw about 10 sheep standing on the hard shoulder of the M62 - it was pitch dark so you could only see them when you were pretty close and they're big enough that if you hit one when travelling at speed, it would be awful. The police handler said it was an emergency and they'd deal with it asap.

MimsyBorogroves · 27/05/2013 21:40

I'd have done the same.

I know my first instinct when faced with something fluffy is to swerve/stop. The other week I ended up doing an emergency stop for a teeny mouse darting across the road (to be fair, I did check that no-one was behind me first).

NatashaBee · 27/05/2013 21:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
rosieposey · 27/05/2013 21:42

Smartiepants thats really sad but i did something similar myself when i first started driving 20 years ago.

I swerved to miss a rabbit and spun and hit a tree on a back lane (totalled my car) its instinct and i just think that it only takes one person to try and stop at speed or swerve at that speed.

i know they were only little but they were clearly visible and it was daytime - im surprised no one else called tbh.

OP posts:
Cropcircles · 27/05/2013 21:51

Wow, can't believe the sympathetic hearing the OP has had with this one! Am I the only one who would have billed her if I'd been the 999 despatcher?