The list, compiled by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, brings together UK drivers' most creative excuses for automotive shunts and crunches that were everybody's fault but their own.

Some of the most unusual include:

• "I was on my way to the doctor with rear end trouble when my universal joint gave way, causing me to have an accident."

• "I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law and headed over the embankment."

• "An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car and vanished."

• "As I reached an intersection, a hedge sprang up, obscuring my vision, and I did not see the other car."

• "I thought my window was down, but I found out it was up when I put my head through it."

• "I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way."

• "I was thrown from my car as it left the road, and was later found in a ditch by some stray cows."

• "The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him."

• "The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its intentions."

• "The indirect cause of the accident was little guy in a small car with a big mouth."