More shelduck family (travellers?) tails

Today at about 0840, a female shelduck and about 5-6 ducklings were hitch-hiking along the edge of the fairly busy A4075, walking quite quickly and purposefully south away from Carew village/Carew Millpond and Carew River towards the busy roundabout at the A477 junction. Here there were loads of traffic and Power station construction lorries etc thundering passed at this more or less peak travel time! She was keeping very close to the verge and motorists were slowing down and giving a reasonably wide berth but goodness knows what happened when/if they reached the roundabout!

There were no obvious road casualties this evening so presumably they made it! But why oh why was she walking the ducklings in what to me appeared to be completely the opposite direction to what seemed to be a safer waterway zone - perhaps they had missed the school bus? Or perhaps I should say fortunately the school bus missed them by veering around them!