https://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/10502068-driver-caught-playing-flute-at-the-wheel-police/
“Police allege the driver was playing the instrument with both hands, following along to music from an iPod.”
Presumably, he was playing the jig ´Darby the Driver´.https://thesession.org/tunes/127
Bob
All very fine for you guys. Just try playing the flute in a right-hand-drive vehicle such as we use in Australia…
Could have been “The Gudgeon Of Maurice’s Car”, https://thesession.org/tunes/4982…
(For younger readers, the gudgeon is the female part of a bearing, the male part being a pintle. In motoring terms, the pistons attach to their connecting rods via a gudgeon.)
Not the first time. I have a scan from “Private Eye” magazine from some 30 years ago of someone doing the same in the North of Ireland. I’ll try to find it and post it here later. Just as well it wasn’t uilleann pipes. However, I suppose once we get “self-drive” cars…
I reckon with the increasing efficiency of modern electric cars, you could probably power the vehicle with the same amount of energy needed to drive the pipes…
Can’t bring to mind any tunes referencing electric vehicles. There’s an opportunity going there.
“The Regenerative Braking Deceleration Detector on Elon’s EV”?
OK, I’ll keep working on it…
Here’s another version of the story, with a photo of the woodwind in question: https://beta.ctvnews.ca/local/toronto/2021/10/20/1_5631518.html
Anyone recognize the maker?
‘“I cannot advise what song was being played on the flute at the time,” Elms said.’
I can’t see an embouchure hole, but there might be a notch at the far end. Could it be more of a quena or some other end-blown flute than a transverse flute?
From “True Stories”, as published in “Private Eye” magazine :
Belfast Telegraph : 18th March 1988
“I was driving from Antrim to Bangor”, said Constable Melvor, “when the cake delivery van driven by McDowell overtook me at about 75 miles per hour. I put my foot down, drew alongside the van, leant slightly forward, and saw the accused was steering the van with one foot while playing a flute with both his hands. He would not stop until we reached a railway crossing with its ’ gates closed”
Mr McDowell said that the constable was mistaken because he disliked the flute as an instrument and greatly preferred the guitar. Furthermore, as he had spent some time working in Salzburg, he had come to dislike music altogether and was selling his guitar".
Unfortunately, it didn’t say what the result of the case was, but given the quality of the “case for the defence” above, I think we can guess 
Almost certainly a quena or maybe even a quenacho. Looks suspiciously similar to a quenacho made from purpleheart wood that I own. Bought from Boliviamall.com - but the one in the pic looks, like it’s only lacquered on the outside.
Hmm. Why am I reminded of Dale’s old chiffboard home page?
Double standard ?..There isn’t a cop in a Highland pipe band anywhere in the world who doesn’t work out tunes on the chanter while driving at speed on the way to band practice. Hands free steering- It’s the reason the Almighty gave us knees!
Well it seems that this ground has been trodden before. 
Let’s head down memory lane to the last century for this
rendering of the fine art of distracted driving by my
dear friend and colleague, Master Piper, Pipemaker and Uilleann Pipemaking chronicler, Nick Whitmer.
This originally appeared in the January 1991 issue of The Piper’s Review.
“From Nick Whitrner, Port Republic, Virginia:
In 1985 or so, my wife and I went to Ireland to the famous Willie Clancy summer school in Miltown Malbay, County Clare. I took a piping class there from a London piper named Tom Brown, I believe. During the class I half-wittingly played the part of the boorish yank. At one class we were talking about the difierences between Ireland and the United States . I mentioned that in Ireland the roads were so narrow and twisty that I found it impossible to play the whistle while driving, as I often did at home. Jaws dropped.
Our instructor was reminded of a time he was being driven around the Irish countryside by some noted traditional musician whose name I forget.
The man was, as we say in the states, impaired. He was also playing the whistle and was pulled over by a garda. “But I just got this tune in my head and had to play it.” I don’t remember if the whistle was confiscated but he got off with a warning only.
When pipers get together they don’t talk about whistles much but I’m all for them. If someone asked me about getting started playing the pipes, I say play the whistle first; get a B-flat and learn some tunes. In the winter I’m indoors playing the pipes. In summer I’m more likely to be outdoors walking around playing the whistle like some annoying Pan. And what better time to practice, learn tunes and pass the time than while driving the family vehicle?
As with any human activity, there are elements of risk, and good practices and bad practices. I play the softest “D” whistle I can find. confined space of a car interior, volume is not an asset. I advise against using whistles longer (i.e., pitched lower) than “D”. Once I was playing in favorite B-flat whistle and it kinda got tangled up in the steering wtreet and it was touch-and-go there for an exciting moment. The actual position of the body while playing/driving depends on individual preference. I favor sitting back in the seat as normal and holding the steering wheel steady with left knee.
A good friend of mine prefers to hunch over the steering wheel with forearms atop, thereby resting on the wheel, whistle in hands. His method enables him to steer better, but I find my method gives me a more relaxed
qosture and possibly better visibility, since my head is back in a normal driving position.
Beginning whistle/drivers should start out practicing on straight roads are familiar-with, in daylight with light traffic. Interstate highivays are ideal. As familiarity and confidence increase, more challenging iraffic
conditions can be attempted. But remember, safety first. And keep an eye out for Gardai”
I was completely scandalized by this story!
Imagine my shock and consternation at Nick
playing the whistle behind the wheel!
Nick being a proud piper, I felt that he could’ve
do as I did and at least taken a practice set for a spin
instead of the lowly whistle!
Indeed. Do not - I repeat, do NOT whistle, flute, pipe, fiddle or otherwise play with yourself while at the wheel, for you are commanding a ton of jagged glass and steel hurtling along at speeds beyond natural human capability. The question, “And what better time to practice, learn tunes and pass the time than while driving the family vehicle?” suggests that driving is an hiatus from the business of living. Trust me, it is not. The best time for “passing the time” is while not driving, for driving is serious business, and if ever there were a case for mindfulness, driving is it. Whistling while you drive is just plain wrong, and impaired is no excuse, never mind being just as wrong, too.
This Public Service Announcement is brought to you by the grumpy folks at ChiffCo®, and we ain’t backing down.
Yes indeed. I couldn’t find the ‘skull with whistle’ picture, must be down a level or two.
But I was also thinking of Dale’s home page “whistles where they were not” pictures and Tunborough’s linked photo in the light of Sedi’s.
Yeah, over the years we’ve lost a lot of spirited stuff original to the Board. It would be fun to have it back and archived; one of my favorites was “Martha Stewart’s Guide to Session Etiquette”.
Found.
https://web.archive.org/web/20100510031226/http://www.chiffandfipple.com/kneedriving.html
See link above for credit to artist.
That date at the Wayback Machine (10/05/2010) seems to be a fairly full snapshot
Oooh, thanks for reminding me. You know, you can download all that old stuff to your own computer (as .PDF) with Adobe Acrobat. As I am doing right now, at least the old whistle reviews (inexpensive, high-end, & low whistles). Never know when one might need to refer to the archive.
He seems to be on acid, too. At least he’s got his seatbelt on…