Road accidents are cat - it's official!

Forget speeding. Forget drink driving. Forget seat belts. Forget driving on the wrong side of the road when under the influence.

Even forget driving while reading this newspaper - the newest danger for motorists is a lot closer to home. In fact it could be sitting on your lap right now or relieving itself on the hydrangea outside the back door. Yes, the humble house cat, Fexlix, Sam, Spot, and their friends should be the latest target of road safety chiefs. That is if research by a team of Czech academics is to be believed.

Jaroslav Flegr of Charles university in Prague says research by a team led by him shows a parasite called toxoplasma gondii, present in Felix and the lads, rabbits and raw meat, can make women reckless and friendly and make men jealous and morose. So what has all this go to do with the family saloon parked outside?

According to Jaroslav, the cat-induced behaviour can make us crash cars and may will us to wander out into the traffic for no apparent reason.

"Our research has shown that toxoplasmosis raises 2.6 times the risk of a traffic accident by prolonging the reaction time of infected people," Jaroslav says. "It is not only about driving accidents but also about the probability of being run over by a car."

The Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science of Charles University concluded in its study last year that "subjects with latent toxoplasmosis have significantly increased risk of traffic accidents than the non-infected subjects.

The existence of toxoplasma gondii has been known for some time, but its dangers are now a lot more far-reaching, says Jaroslav who believes the moggies infection could be responsible for up to one million road deaths worldwide. This would make it one of the deadliest parasitic diseases, second only to malaria.

So what are we to do? Penalty points for cat-owners? Specially-designed cat clamps? Hand-wash sinks fitted as standard by car manufacturers? Higher insurance for cat-owners, perhaps? Suggestions on a postcard please.