CARTERTON DUCK USES PEDESTRIAN CROSSING CORRECTLY, HUMANS TAKE NOTES
The duck looked both ways. The Hilux behind it did not.
A mallard duck brought traffic on Carterton's High Street to a complete standstill on Tuesday morning after using the pedestrian crossing outside the Four Square with what witnesses described as "more confidence than most locals".
The duck, believed to reside in the drain behind the community centre, waddled onto the crossing at 9.14am, paused briefly at the centre line, and continued to the far kerb without so much as a quack. Three vehicles stopped. One driver waved it across. Another took a photo.
Margaret Wilcox, 71, who was posting a birthday card at the time, said she'd never seen anything like it since the flood of '74. "Back then a duck wouldn't have bothered with the crossing. Just swam down the main road. Different times."
A second witness, Trevor Aitken of Belvedere Road, said the duck appeared to know exactly what it was doing. "Looked left. Looked right. Looked left again. My grandson doesn't do that and he's nine."
NZTA, contacted for comment, said pedestrian crossings were for pedestrians and that the legal status of waterfowl remained "under review". A Carterton District Council spokesperson added that the duck was "not currently on the electoral roll" but was welcome to use council amenities.
The duck was last seen heading toward the bakery. It has not been ticketed.
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Reader Letters
sarah_from_masterton
Only in Carterton! What a sight.
old_timer_trev
This duck is clearly smarter than half the drivers I see on the road daily! Maybe we should have ducks directing traffic on the main roads too. At least they seem to know the road rules better than some humans.
duckfan69
Mate, ducks don't have flat tyres.
cranky_grandad
So we're just going to ignore the elephant in the room here? How is a DUCK using a crossing more fascinating to you all than ensuring our bloody footpaths are safe enough for actual pedestrians? No wonder Wellington is munted at times.
tania_85
@cranky_grandad Did you even read the article? It's about a duck using a CROSSING correctly, which most people struggle to do. Not about footpaths. Chill out.
happy_camper
Finally, a good news story we can all laugh about. The world needs more quacking content such as this!
wayne1987
No ticket? Next it'll be parking in the loading zones!
julie_town
I reckon the duck could do a better job at council meetings. At least it knows how to follow a process!
kiwi_joker
Lol.