No one's quite sure how to solve the road rage epidemic, but one sheriff thinks he has the solution — knitting. 
 
 Amanda McCabe from Dundee, Scotland, was recently accused of assaulting fellow driver, Clare Smith. But instead of sending her directly to jail, Sheriff Rafferty at the Dundee Sheriff Court gave McCabe a choice: knit multiple items free of charge for a charity shop — or face harsher consequences. 
 
 Oh, Britain. 
 
 After McCabe entered a major road from a slip road, Smith loudly and publicly accused her of poor driving. McCabe responded by following Smith for several miles before pulling her out of her vehicle and punching her in the the face. As one does. 
 
 In court, McCabe claimed the entire chase was coincidental, as she was a "keen knitter” and was on her way to a specialty wool shop, near where Smith was headed. 
 
 Who hasn't heard that excuse before? 
 
 Sheriff Rafferty decided to hold McCabe to her words. In lieu of going directly to prison, McCabe would have to knit several pieces of clothing for a charity shop and raise money for a good cause. McCabe has a criminal record but no convictions for violence. 
 
 Dundee City, Scotland Image: wikimedia 
 
 McCabe boasted that she could knit a sweater in two to three days, at a cost of £6 to £7. 
 
 "You went in the same direction as your victim, at the very least, and then went to her car door and assaulted her," Rafferty told McCabe in court. "You will bring to court several items that you have knitted that you are prepared to donate to a charity shop. It will not be a meager amount. You have committed a serious offense." 
 
 Because clearly, the best punishment for a "serious offense" and assault is a drastic knitting sentence. 
 
 Let the punishment not fit the crime. 
 
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 A road rage woman who punched a motorist across the face has been told her only hope of avoiding prison is to prove she is an expert knitter. 
 
 Amanda McCabe from Dundee is said to have tailed her victim, Claire Smith, for several miles before boxing her in, hauling open her driver’s side door and punching her across the face. 
 
 At Dundee Sheriff Court, McCabe claimed the apparent pursuit was a simple coincidence, as she was a “keen knitter” and planned to visit a specialist wool shop near to where the assault took place. 
 
 On hearing that, Sheriff Rafferty laid down a challenge – one that he said could be the difference between liberty and prison. 
 
 He told McCabe she would return to court on December 14 with “multiple knitted items” capable of being sold in a charity shop and raising money for good causes. 
 
 Put on the spot, she claimed she could knit a jumper in two-to-three-days at a cost of £6 to £7. 
 
 Depute Fiscal John Adams said Ms Smith and a friend had been driving along the Kingsway when the accused entered from a slip road. 
 
 “Ms Smith was not very impressed with the accused’s driving and made her feelings known,” he said. 
 
 “Unfortunately this led to the accused following Ms Smith for around five to ten minutes, from the Kingsway to Cardean Street.” 
 
 When Ms Smith, feeling under pressure, took a wrong turn and entered a car park to perform a U-turn, McCabe pounced. 
 
 She boxed-in her road rival’s car and leapt from her drivers’ seat before opening her door and punching her once on the right side of her face. 
 
 Ms Smith was left with a red mark but did not require medical attention. 
 
 The court heard that McCabe had a previous criminal record but no convictions for violence and nothing within the past decade. 
 
 She is a keen knitter and a nearby specialist wool shop was her destination 
 
 Solicitor Jim Laverty told the court: “She is utterly ashamed of herself and says that it was simply a loss of control. 
 
 “As for following the complainer, she indicates that Cardean Street was her intended journey’s end. 
 
 “She is a keen knitter and a nearby specialist wool shop was her destination, but unfortunately this was the same direction in which the complainer preceded her.” 
 
 Sheriff Rafferty told McCabe: “This was a quite shocking incident. 
 
 “You went in the same direction as your victim, at the very least, and then went to her car door and assaulted her, though I accept that it was out of character. 
 
 “If you are a skilled knitter then I am sure that you could produce some goods for charity. 
 
 “You will bring to court several items that you have knitted that you are prepared to donate to a charity shop. 
 
 “It will not be a meagre amount. You have committed a serious offence. 
 
 “You have committed serious offences but you have a chance to do something useful with your time. Take this chance.” 
 
 McCabe, of Maplewood Drive, admitted assaulting Claire Smith in Cardean Street on January 8 this year by punching her on the head. 
 
 Sentence was deferred until December for her to be of good behaviour and to produce the knitted items requested by the court.
– When Amanda McCabe was accused in court of assaulting another Scottish woman after a road-rage incident in Dundee, she had a most unusual reaction: She bragged about what a terrific knitter she was, noting she could whip up a sweater in just a few days, Mashable reports. Clare Smith alleged that McCabe had tailed her for miles before cutting her off, yanking her out of the car, and punching her in the face. But McCabe says she wasn't following Smith, she was simply headed in the same direction—toward a local wool shop, due to her being a "keen knitter." The judge took what she said into account and handed down an appropriate punishment for the January assault, which she admitted to. "If you are a skilled knitter, then I am sure that you could produce some goods for charity," the judge said, per the Courier. "You will bring to court several items that you have knitted that you are prepared to donate to a charity shop." He gave her until Dec. 14, because apparently he's expecting her to knit enough to supply a small boutique. "It will not be a meager amount," he added. "You have committed a serious offense." (Bet she can't knit a 12-foot scarf while running a marathon.)