alligator
n.— «He picks up a piece of rubber and flings it aside. In an instant, he is back to the safety of the grassy side strip. Again, he gauges the traffic and leaps onto the road to grab an “alligator.”» —“Driven to aid motorists in distress” by Shaun Sutner Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Mass.) Sept. 15, 1997. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)