By Dave Goosselink
Forget texting and driving - the latest driver distraction in the deep south is topless flashing.
Down on the farm, 18-year-old Cherelle Dudfield can do whatever she wants. But when she flashed her breasts on Invercargill's main street recently, she created a serious traffic hazard.
After a night of drinking with her mates, Ms Dudfield was dared to flash at passing cars. One motorist copped such an eyeful he crashed into her.
"I stood on the centre line, flashed a couple of cars, got back in and they told me to do it again, so I did," says Ms Dudfield. "And then I saw a car coming towards me, on the middle of the centre lane driving up towards me, so I decided to run.
"And then I got hit."
Thinking she'd suffered serious injuries, her friends took her to hospital.
"I didn't know where the blood was coming from and didn't know if I could move," says Ms Dudfield.
They were only cuts and bruises, but police had no sympathy.
"This was obviously an alcohol-involved offence," says Snr Sgt Olaf Jensen of Invercargill police. "This girl put herself at risk with the actions that she undertook - not only herself, but the motorists on the road at the time."
Ms Dudfield says she has learned her lesson, and has a message for others considering drunken dares.
"Don't be me. Don't be stupid, don't get drunk and stand in the middle of the road and flash anyone, 'cause it hurts when you get hit."
After fronting up at court for the incident, Md Dudfield was charged with disorderly behaviour and fined $275, a small price to pay for what could have been a much bigger booboo.
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