Motorists have to be alert to every eventuality, from erratic learner drivers to endless traffic queues.
However, not even the most experienced driver could have prepared himself for what must rank as the strangest hazard of them all.
A llama called Pedro has been moved from a field at Glasgow Zoo after police warned that his loud extended lovemaking was causing a nuisance to passing motorists.
Bemused drivers using the Baillieston road near the zoo were repeatedly distracted by a loud intermittent buzzing noise, similar to the sound of a light aircraft taking off.
''It was all highly embarrassing, but we had to remove Pedro from the field after a warning from police,'' explained the zoo's director Richard O'Grady.
''The llama is an eyecatching creature anyway, but their sexual habits are very unusual and Pedro was a particularly feisty example.''
When llamas mate the male rushes around biting the legs of his chosen female causing her to sit down. He then approaches the rear of the female on his haunches at an angle of 45 degrees.
''That's when the noise begins which causes all the bother,'' said Mr O'Grady.
''Llamas then start making a very loud buzzing sound like an electric saw or a swarm of bees and this goes on for up to three-quarters of an hour.
''It's an arresting spectacle and people driving past were wobbling around all over the place. The police asked us to move Pedro after motorists had a couple of narrow scrapes. ''
Pedro has now been banished to Woburn safari park in England where he has more freedom to enjoy himself. However, the product of his exertions, three-week-old Alan, is staying at Glasgow Zoo.
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