One of Japan's famed bullet trains had to creep along on auto-pilot for five minutes while the driver went in search of his errant hat to avoid breaking company rules.

"He left the driver's seat to look for his hat after he realized he wasn't wearing it," said Naoyuki Maruyama, spokesman for Central Japan Railway.

Company regulations say the driver of the Shinkansen, or bullet train, must wear his hat on at all times, although Maruyama said there were exceptions.

"We have notified all drivers that they should continue driving until they reach a station, after which they should report that they have misplaced his or her hat," he said.
http://www.cnn.com/2001/TRAVEL/NEWS/...eut/index.html