Roadblast!

Today, Bertie the bus is taking passengers to their respected destinations. "This is a nice day," thought Bertie. Or so he thought. Bertie reached an intersection. His light is red, so he had to stop.

"Ok," thought Bertie, "Time to finish the job. We'll be at your stop soon, everyone." Bertie told the passengers that this is his last stop for a while, and then he's going on a break. Bertie's light changed to green in less than a minute. Bertie was about to leave.

Suddenly, Bertie's driver slammed on the brakes, his passengers got bumped really hard, due to Bertie stopping suddenly. What happened was that a car actually drove by its red light when Bertie's light is green.

"That was unexpected," said Bertie, "Sorry everyone." The passengers just groaned, but they were unhurt. Then Bertie took them to the last stop and rest for a moment.

His driver took him to a fitters yard to have his brakes check. "I slammed on the brake pedal too hard that I think I've damaged them," the driver explained, "You saw it, right?" Bertie had to agree with his driver. "Yeah," he said, "That driver drove right on through in front of me! On a red light, too!"

"You had that problem?" a voice said. Bertie looked and saw that it was Bulgy, the vegetable bus. "One overtook me by surprise, speeding at the same time!" Bulgy explained, "He made me squash my vegetables!"

Then Elizabeth and Jack chugged in. "They made me loose my loads!" Jack explained, "They took a shortcut right through the loading site where I was working!" "And I take it that they don't smell very good, either," Elizabeth said. "I'm not hurt," Jack said, "Just surprised."

Then Butch arrived, towing Caroline the car. "A mishap," Butch explained, dropping off Caroline with smoke billowing from her engine. "I've dodged one," Caroline said, "And I ended up blowing a gasket!"

"Oh, and they made me nearly crash into Duke's train!" Elizabeth explained. Soon, Nelson, Alfie, and Patrick arrived as well, complaining about the careless drivers, too.

"They nearly ruined my beloved concrete!" Patrick said. "Ok, I think we got it," said Jack. "Anyway," Bertie said at last, "We must avoid these unintelligent and reckless drivers at all time!" The others agreed.

Jack returned to the Sodor Construction Company yard to warn Miss Jenny about the road hazards. "You are all to avoid these people at all times!" Jenny ordered her vehicles. "We understand," they replied. "I'll try," said Ned. "We should!" said Jack. "How did it come to this?" thought Kelly. "I hope they don't ruin my paintwork!" said Isobella. So that's what everyone did.

Terence and Trevor didn't need to worry about the careless drivers driving through their fields, but they chose to stay on guard nonetheless. "Be careful," said Terence, "Those dimwits could show up at any second!" "I'm right with you!" agreed Trevor.

Back on the roads, none of the vehicles got in the way of any careless drivers. Bertie, after having his brakes repaired avoided one. "I'm not going to let it happen again," thought Bertie.

Madge avoided many. "I'm not going to let these idiots make me loose my loads," Madge said to herself, "Or make me fall over. A disadvantage with only having three wheels."

"All right, Madge," her driver said, "Let's not think about it too much, or we will have an accident." Madge agreed.

However, Max and Monty deliberately chose to go against Jenny's wishes. "Hey, Monty," said Max, "Let's play a game." "What game?" asked Monty. "Let's play, dodge the idiot drivers!" said Max. "Well, okay," agreed Monty, "But won't they see us?" "Eh, they're too dumb to take any notice of us," said Max. "Ok, I'll go with that," said Monty.

That's what they did. Whenever they see a careless driver on the roads. "Ok," said Max, "There's one. He's not driving right!" "So what we do?" asked Monty. "This!" roared Max, shooting straight towards the car. Monty watched.

It looked like Max is going to crash into the car. But at the last second, Max dodged the vehicle. The driver, unaware of what just happened, continued to drive forward. Max stopped to look back at Monty and said, "That's the game." "Ok, I'll play," said Monty. "Another stupid car driver!" Max said, "Coming behind you!"

"Right!" agreed Monty. He got in the path of the oncoming car and droved backwards. The driver of that car did see Monty, so he veered left while Monty veered right.

The car drove into a curb, but managed to get back on the road and continued on driving. "This is fun," thought Monty. "Play game!" declared Max. The two dump trucks raced off together. Another car, not driving on the right side of the road was approaching them. "Hey!" Max shouted, "Bet you that you're not smart enough to take any notice of us!"

The two dump trucks raced towards it. They both dodged it at the last second. "This is really fun!" declared Max.

Meanwhile, Bulgy had finished delivering a load of vegetables to a market town and was on his way home. "Look," growled Bulgy. He saw another careless driver. This one is stuck at a red light. "Another idiot," Bulgy said as George chuffed up.

"A looser," said George, "A bad image for the road. Outdated lunatic." Then suddenly, they saw that the driver drove his car off the road and drove it through a field.

"I knew it," said George, "No patience, so he decided to take a shortcut." Then both George and Bulgy saw that the driver is preparing to cross a railway line. They agreed about what they said.

At that time, Bear is pulling a goods train on the same railway line. Suddenly, he saw the car on the road. And the driver of the car took no notice of Bear. So he tried to drive his car onto the railway line, hoping to cross it immediately. "Oh, not again!" Bear cried, upon seeing the car.

Bear slammed on his brakes, but he ended up smashing into the car. The driver of the wrecked car had been catapulted into a nearby bush while Bear ripped apart the car. After a few seconds, Bear finally stopped, but the damage had been done. "Excuse me," said George, leaving Bulgy. Bulgy set off for home.

Bear's crew examined the damage while George chuffed up to the driver of the destroyed car, lying in the bush, unhurt, but confused.

"Oh, you stupid headed bozos are a disgrace to the roads!" George bellowed to the driver, "You give roads a bad name! Call yourselves drivers? You can't even put 2 and 2 together! Take my advice and find yourself a stupid school for yourself! That's a good idea for idiots like you!"

Then George left, not regretting what he had just said. The car driver didn't react; later he was taken away while Bear was taken to the works to be repaired. While the mess is being cleared up, Max and Monty had to take a load of rocks away.

"Are you sure you're both watching out for careless drivers?" Alfie asked. "Yes, of course," answered Max. "I hope so," said Oliver. "Having fun," muttered Monty. When both dump trucks have been loaded, they sped off to play their game again.

Meanwhile, Bertie was talking to Jeremy. "So, have you had mishaps like the one we're facing before?" Bertie asked.

"No really," Jeremy replied, "We have strict safety guidelines. We have to follow them perfectly." "Or what?" asked Bertie, curiously. "Otherwise, we'd all be dead!" Jeremy replied darkly.

"Oh, sorry that I asked," said Bertie, regretting his question. "No problem," said Jeremy, "I have to get ready for my next flight." "Ok," said Bertie and left.

Also, Elizabeth was talking to Kevin at the Steamworks. "Hey, I may be clumsy sometimes," Kevin said, "But I'm still really useful."

"I see," replied Elizabeth, "You have proven yourself worthy nonetheless." "Yes, Elizabeth," Kevin said, "I am a really useful crane. Sorry about your problems."

"Well, it happens," Elizabeth said, "We'll just have to be careful with them." "I'm sure you will," Kevin replied. "Until a real accident happens," Elizabeth thought to herself.

"That's enough chit-chat, Kevin," said Victor, "Come on, Gewnevere is waiting for her new drive gear. It's ready now." "Yes, boss, coming boss," answered Kevin, "Good luck, Elizabeth. "I'll try," replied Elizabeth. Kevin returned to work while Elizabeth left.

Back on the roads, Max and Monty continued playing their game. "Dodge, dodge, dodge!" shouted Monty. They both dodged many cars coming their way. Then when Monty dodged one car that took no noticed of the two, a rock catapulted out of Monty's dump bed and struck the car. The driver lost control and ended up crashing his car into a tree.

But Max and Monty took no notice and drove off. Madge had finished delivering some cargo to the Skarloey Railway and set off for home. She avoided many careless drivers.

"That was close," Madge said to herself. Then she saw Max and Monty dodging many cars on the road. Madge gasped. "What on earth?!" she exclaimed.

The two dump trucks drove by her, not paying any attention to Madge. "You two maniacs!" shouted Madge. But the two continued on. By the end of the day, everyone prepared to call it a day. Jack had finished dumping a bucket load of dirt in a field. "That's that," he declared, "Time to call it a day."

He was on his way home when he saw an awful sight. He saw a speeding car. It was heading straight towards a mother and her child. "Oh no!" cried Jack, "The two will be killed!"

The mother immediately saw the speeding car heading straight towards them, but there was no time for the two of them to get out of the way. "Something must be done!" Jack shouted.

"I'll do something!" Byron said, "I'm not going to let this happen!" Byron had to take action immediately. "I must stop him!" he boomed. He got right in front of the mother and child, turned to face the speeding car and got ready. His blade is now a big shield.

The car continued speeding towards Byron, now defending the mother and her child. The driver of the car did not take any notice of Byron at all. So the car hit Byron's shield. It compressed itself by force and the driver had been catapulted out of his wrecked car and he ended up landing in a tomato cart. He was unhurt, just confused.

Byron turned to face the mother and her child. Both were stunned, but they were all right. "Safe," sighed Byron, relieved. "You did it, Byron!" Jack said out loud, "You've saved them! I'm proud of you!"

"Aw, thanks," smiled Byron, "I had to do something to save them." "Thank you," said the mother, "You protected us." Her child agreed. "Thanks," Byron blushed.

The guy who nearly run them down emerged from the tomato cart was greeted by a group of children.

They sang a song together. "A dummy, a dummy, who is the dummy? It's this guy who can't even see clearly, because he has no sight!" The children laughed at the guy and ran off.

"I have to say," said Jack, "That was actually entertaining." After the reckless driver had been taken away by the police, Byron's story spread quickly. Everyone cheered Byron when they returned to the Sodor Construction Company yard.

"We've heard the story from Harold," said Isobella. "Well done, Byron!" said Kelly. The rest of the crew cheered Byron for his heroic action.

"I'm really thankful," smiled Byron, "Thanks everyone." "You've proven yourself really useful today." Jack said. "Yes!" chirped Alfie, "You really did." "Yes, Byron, said Miss Jenny, "You have once again proven yourself a hero." Byron said no more and returned to his shed with pride. Max and Monty returned to the yard after that.

Miss Jenny learned of what Max and Monty had done. She scolded them severely. "I told you two to stay away from these people!" she burst out, "And you two deliberately disobeyed me! Madge told me everything." "Sorry, Jenny," said Monty, "But it was Max's idea!" "Well, you agreed with me!" Max said.

"Enough!" Miss Jenny shouted, "You will go to the back of the sheds until I could figure out what to do with you! You should be ashamed of yourselves!" Max and Monty did. Alfie drove up to the two. "That's not the kind of 'watching out' I meant!" Alfie shouted.

Bertie saw everything. "And there's that," said Bertie. Bertie drove home, hoping to have better days on the road in the future.

Back at the field, however. "When will they come?" asked Trevor. "Soon, Trevor," replied Terence, "Soon." Terence and Trevor continued guarding their fields. But no cars came.

Eventually, the police did do something about the careless drivers the next day. They started cracking down on drivers who do not follow the rules on the road. This really satisfied George.

And the wrecked car that nearly killed a mother and her child is now used as an example of what happens when people do not follow the rules on the road.