Asphalt spreaders? We don't need no stinking asphalt spreaders!

For most of us, potholes are an annoyance. For public works contractors, potholes are a lucrative business. For local politicians, potholes can make or break your career. Potholes are not a life-and-death matter, however... except in Mexico:

Four Mexicans were killed when a dispute between two Tzotzil Indian families over a pothole in the street escalated into a full-blown shootout.

One of the families closed off the cracked concrete and mud road in the town of Banelos in the poor southern state of Chiapas to fill in a hole left by heavy rain.

That angered a family with a transport business who needed to get their truck through, the Mexican daily Reforma said on Tuesday.

Insults led to blows and finally the two families shot at each other using various caliber guns and a hefty AR-15 rifle, Reforma said.