Driver's 'freak out' on Aussie road after startling discovery outside car

An unwanted stowaway threatened to make its way inside a woman's car while she was driving.

A driver was forced to pull over (main) because of a snake stuck in her car (inset).
A driver's terrifying ordeal saw her pull over after discovering an unwanted stowaway. Source: Supplied

A driver was forced to urgently pull over after discovering an unwanted stowaway hiding in her car. Professional reptile catcher Chris Williams described the moment he received a call from a 'distressed' woman who spotted a snake crawl out from under the bonnet of her car and across the windscreen.

The woman, Claire, had been attending a team building day out in the bush when, on her way home, the incident unfolded.

“She was going quite fast, and the snake started getting blown around and ended up going off to the side and curling around her rear vision mirror," the Urban Reptile Removal founder told Yahoo News.

Related: Find out why a group of Irish tradies stopped work after a 'shock' find in Australia 🐍

Portia at Marrickville Metro looking at the snake on the back windscreen wiper attached to a black Hyundai.
Snake catcher's daughter Portia had been excited to catch up with a friend, when her dad had to take an emergency detour to catch a snake. Source: Urban Reptile Removal

Speaking to Yahoo News on Thursday, Claire recalled the moment on Tuesday her unwanted snake encounter began as she headed back to Sydney from the Hawkesbury River.

“I just started to freak out that it was going to get in the car. So I pulled over into a petrol station and jumped out,” she said.

Shaken by the encounter, the snake curled itself around her side mirror. But unfortunately by the time Chris arrived, it had disappeared. After an hour of searching her Hyundai, he had to deliver some pragmatic advice to Claire.

Although she was clearly scared of the green tree snake, because the species is not considered venomous to humans it was agreed it posed minimal danger to her.

“We thought the best course of action was to pretend it had blown off, and go about her life. Because she parks her car on the street, and she lives in a suburb with green tree snakes, I thought it would probably crawl out and find its own way into the bush,” Chris said.

Claire followed the advice, went to the gym that night, and then onto work the next day, forgetting all about the snake. But on Thursday, after she parked her car at the Marrickville Metro shopping centre she came face to face with her scaly nemesis again.

“I wasn’t worried about it being venomous, I just have a reaction to any kind of reptile. I really can’t stand them, and they make me feel a bit sick,” Claire recalled.

Portia holding the green tree snake at Marrickville Metro.
Portia wasn't particularly fazed by picking up the green tree snake. Source: Urban Reptile Removal

When Chris got the call that the snake was back, he was determined not to lose it again, and so he gave his daughter Portia the bad news her “play date” with a friend would need to be delayed.

“She was quite bored by the situation. I handed Portia the snake so Claire could see just how inoffensive they are. She’s held plenty of green tree snakes and they’re really no threat,” he said.

Chris then bagged the snake and released it safely back into a bushland area.

While encounters with snakes can be frightening, it’s important to remember that they’re probably more scared than we are. Unfortunately because they look so different from us, it can be hard to determine their state of mind.

“Because they don't have the ability to show expressions, we probably don't get a sense for how distressed they are. They're not an animal that's going to squawk or squeak or make any verbal sound, and they're not going to display emotions with their faces like we do,” Chris said.

Left: A placid looking green tree snake face. Right: A woman with her mouth open against a pink background.
Because snakes have different facial structures to humans, it can be hard to empathise with them. Source: Getty

With the weather heating up in Australia, the chance of finding a snake inside or on your car is increasing. The best advice for dealing with this situation when driving is to pull over when it’s safe to do so and call a professional.

“Then the most important thing is to just continually watch the snake. They are so good at just disappearing,” Chris said.

Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week’s best stories.