Reports from Copenhagen, indicate a 57-year-old trucker is being held on charges that he conspired to wreak havoc by spilling upwards of three loads of potatoes on a critical bridge linking islands to the Denmark mainland and a nearby roadway. Suspicions about the motivation of the trucker in question are being raised based on the timing of the alleged incident. It seems Denmark’s parliament passed a measure raising the tax on truck diesel the same day three potato spills occurred in the same area.
“It looks weird. We are working on two hypotheses: it is either an accident or it is something that has been done deliberately,” police spokesman Kenneth Taanquist reportedly said.
The first spill occurred on the westbound side of the Storebaelt bridge that connects the island where Copenhagen is situated to the Denmark mainland. The mysterious piles of slippery potatoes created a driving hazard. The second early morning mash-up happened on the eastbound lanes soon after.
The taters slowed traffic on both sides to a near-halt over the 11-mile bridge and tunnel, according to the Danish Road Directorate. The structure is also used for travel in and out of Odense, the country’s third-largest city. While sleuths were trying to determine the origins and motive of the potato droppings, a third strike was reported outside the nearby town of Kolding.
A new tax, exclusively leveled against heavy-duty vehicles, begins in 2025. Vehicles weighing over 3.5 tons will reportedly pay an additional $0.38 per mile on gasoline or truck diesel. Politicians claimed the continued use of gasoline and diesel was environmentally unsustainable.
In response, truckers have reportedly been orchestrating a variety of peaceful protests that include blocking highways and heavily traveled roads. The common sentiment among owner-operators is the government is, again, reaching into their pockets and hurting their livelihood.
Organizers for the widespread truck protests took to social media to distance themselves from the mashed potato mess, calling it a “stunt” on Facebook. Some truck protestors are tapping the protest brakes after the incident and arrest. However, the detectives working the case had not determined whether the three spills were accidental or deliberate, based on the police spokesman’s two brilliant working theories. Either way, a trucker was reportedly held on suspicion of causing reckless endangerment to life.
What’s certain is that truckers in Europe are experiencing the same type of onerous government regulations and targeted taxes as their American counterparts.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/denmark-potato-spill-trucker-detained-storebaelt-bridge/
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