A parrot riding in a car with its owner alerted police at a DUI checkpoint that the man in the car may have been drunk, repeatedly yelling “he’s drunk” when the man rolled down the window. At first police were confused and thought that there was a passenger in the car, but soon discovered that it was a parrot speaking. It is not clear how the parrot got that phrase to repeat, but upon further investigation police found that the man could not pass a field sobriety test and was likely intoxicated. He was arrested and taken to a local jail, along with his pet parrot, to sober up before being released.
In the end, it is lucky that the parrot exposed the driver’s bad behavior before it was too late and someone was injured as a result of drunk driving.
Drunk driving is an extremely dangerous behavior and those who choose to get behind the wheel put not only their lives in their hands, but the lives of all others on the roads or in their vicinity. When a drunk driver injures or kills someone as a result of their negligent actions, the victim or their family has a right to seek compensation and culpability on the part of the driver. Typically this is done through a negligence action or a wrongful death lawsuit.
This case took place in Mexico City, so any actual damages as a result of his man’s driving would be subject to the laws of Mexico and their procedures for resolving disputes.
Source: Time, “’He’s Drunk!’ Pet Parrot Rats Out Drunk Driver at Police Checkpoint,” Melissa Locker, Jan. 15, 2014.