Man's Decision to Hitch a Ride Under a Truck Goes Awry

It's every driver's dream: hitting a slew of green lights and sailing on toward your destination without pause. For one Australian stowaway, it turned into a headline-grabbing problem. As the Australian Associated Press reports, a 43-year-old New South Wales man apparently ended a night of drinking by deciding to climb into the metal racks underneath a double semitrailer that was parked at a roadside stop (see a photo of the truck here). The man's intention was to hitch a 30-mile ride, exiting when the truck—which got moving around 2:30am local time Friday—was forced to stop at a red light in his destination of Coffs Harbour.

The Australian AP explains that the Pacific Highway route the truck was taking would pass through at least 10 traffic lights in the town. But every single one was green, the man later told police—and the truck cruised for four hours straight, or roughly 250 miles. The driver tells Australia's ABC that "when it started to get light, I could see in my mirrors a piece of orange cloth under my trailer." He spotted an emergency pull-off, stopped, and got out of his cab to find a man exiting his undercarriage. Police were eventually called and handed the man a nearly $200 fine "and a free lift to Coomera railway station for the big trip home south." (More strange stuff stories.)