Charlie Stross

Frozen Union Canal driver given community service (in 2010)

'Nisbet, 25, labelled "mad" by police, "stupid" by his own lawyer, and "possibly insane" by one sheriff is also being sued for the £16,359 cost of the salvage.'
...

Nisbet, from South Queensferry, said: "It seemed a good idea at the time."

And it's just frozen over again!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-11790895

Frozen Union Canal driver given community service

A man whose car plunged through the ice as he drove on a frozen canal in West Lothian is sentenced to community service.

BBC News
Jan 8 at 10:53pmWeb
Show threadPaul Turnbull has moved.🇨🇦Jan 8
@cstross <sighs> in Canadian. ❄️
Show thread@frueheneuzeitJan 8
@cstross "We must have been doing more than 30 miles an hour before we noticed the puddles up ahead. We decided to go for it anyway and the front end just gave way on the ice."
Show threadSteve HerseyJan 8
@cstross
Banned from driving for a raft of prior driving offenses. <eyeroll>
Show threadCadbury MooseJan 8
@cstross "Four Canals!" There really are some idiots around. (Lucky they didn't drown, but I suspect the canal isn't that deep from the photographs of the scene.)
Show threadPete / SyllopsiumJan 9

@Cadbury_Moose @cstross Most canals aren't very deep, many you can stand up in. Various sites say originally they were designed to be six feet deep, but boats don't need that type of load any more.

However, people have still died in them, and it can't be terribly pleasant. Particularly in freezing water.

Show threadC.W. Williams 🇺🇦 🌊🇨🇦🦑🇬Jan 8

@cstross #chunderroad

I have to admit that, on occasion, I have also said "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

It always turned out not to be a good idea.

Show threadStewart RussellJan 8
@cstross I was just in Linlithgow looking at the frozen canal, and discussing this eejit with my cousin
Show threadKilla KoalaJan 9
@cstross He needs that "Not Insane" stamp on his hand from The Simpsons, just in case.
Show threadEd DaviesJan 9
@cstross I'm just impressed that he got a mile before going through. The ice must have been pretty thick.
Show threadCharlie StrossJan 9
@edavies 2010 was the year of the big freeze. Edinburgh got 20cm of snow dumped on it more or less overnight and everything shut down—snow ploughs couldn't get into the city for weeks, airport was closed, ports closed, motorways blocked. It lasted a month before the thaw set in.
Show threadEd DaviesJan 9
@cstross Ah yes, I didn't move to Scotland till July that year. There was heavy snow in the south of England for a while but it didn't last anything like that long.