From dumping up to 12 million tonnes of plastic into the ocean each year to destroying the habitats of endangered species for our own benefit, humans haven't exactly been the easiest inhabitants of Earth for other occupants of the green planet to live with.

But while most of us are trying to do our bit to waste less, recycle more and make less of an impact on our fragile planet, there are some stories that are so heart-warming that we should all stop to hear them. Like this tale from Auckland, New Zealand, where three whole lanes of traffic stopped to let a family of ducks cross a highway during peak Friday morning traffic.

Ducks don't mind living near humans, but finding themselves on the wrong side of the highway can easily turn deadly. It's unlikely that slow-moving ducks will be spotted by people in fast-moving vehicles who have their minds set on the day's meetings or plans for the weekend.

However, footage of the incident shows that humans are capable of noticing the world around them. In fact, they're even willing to give up a little portion of their morning to make sure a family of ducks comes to safety.

The video was shared by the Auckland division of the New Zealand Transport Agency, who provide live updates and traffic reports on their Twitter. They provided an update early on Friday morning at 7:45am, just as the morning peak hour was starting to build up on the Northern Motorway.

"Please allow a little extra time citybound on the Northern Mwy this morning with minor delays due to ducks crossing near Tristram Ave," they wrote, adding: "NZ Police are now escorting all to safety."

They were referring, of course, to the duck family, who would be much better off in a nature reserve rather than loitering near highways. The video is almost a minute long and shows how three lanes of traffic came to a halt to let the mother duck and her row of ducklings safely cross.

Without any instruction or warning, the drivers must have seen the duck family approaching the highway and stopped to let them pass. One by one, each lane comes to a stop, and traffic only beings moving once the ducks are safely out of the way. It shows incredible patience from the drivers' part, especially as most of them were probably on their way to work on a Friday morning.

Though there was a resulting traffic delay, the ducks made it across safely. The video really is something special:

The video got over 7,000 likes and was retweeted more than 2,600 times. Naturally, it attracted a lot of comments too.

"Quite possibly the only worthwhile traffic jam in history," one person joked, while another said "good on you Auckland drivers - no ducks harmed in the making of this".

Others wondered how the ducks would've been able to get past the concrete barriers that line the sides of the highway.

The video attracted worldwide attention, with many more eyes landing on the tweet than the usual Auckland commuters who follow the page for traffic updates. Twitter-users praised the patience of the drivers, with some saying that a scene like that would never happen where they live.

And ultimately, the heart-warming video inspired everyone to do better.

See? There still is some good in the world!

From dumping up to 12 million tonnes of plastic into the ocean each year to destroying the habitats of endangered species for our own benefit, humans haven't exactly been the easiest inhabitants of Earth for other occupants of the green planet to live with.

But while most of us are trying to do our bit to waste less, recycle more and make less of an impact on our fragile planet, there are some stories that are so heart-warming that we should all stop to hear them. Like this tale from Auckland, New Zealand, where three whole lanes of traffic stopped to let a family of ducks cross a highway during peak Friday morning traffic.

Ducks don't mind living near humans, but finding themselves on the wrong side of the highway can easily turn deadly. It's unlikely that slow-moving ducks will be spotted by people in fast-moving vehicles who have their minds set on the day's meetings or plans for the weekend.

However, footage of the incident shows that humans are capable of noticing the world around them. In fact, they're even willing to give up a little portion of their morning to make sure a family of ducks comes to safety.

The video was shared by the Auckland division of the New Zealand Transport Agency, who provide live updates and traffic reports on their Twitter. They provided an update early on Friday morning at 7:45am, just as the morning peak hour was starting to build up on the Northern Motorway.

"Please allow a little extra time citybound on the Northern Mwy this morning with minor delays due to ducks crossing near Tristram Ave," they wrote, adding: "NZ Police are now escorting all to safety."

They were referring, of course, to the duck family, who would be much better off in a nature reserve rather than loitering near highways. The video is almost a minute long and shows how three lanes of traffic came to a halt to let the mother duck and her row of ducklings safely cross.

Without any instruction or warning, the drivers must have seen the duck family approaching the highway and stopped to let them pass. One by one, each lane comes to a stop, and traffic only beings moving once the ducks are safely out of the way. It shows incredible patience from the drivers' part, especially as most of them were probably on their way to work on a Friday morning.

Though there was a resulting traffic delay, the ducks made it across safely. The video really is something special:

The video got over 7,000 likes and was retweeted more than 2,600 times. Naturally, it attracted a lot of comments too.

"Quite possibly the only worthwhile traffic jam in history," one person joked, while another said "good on you Auckland drivers - no ducks harmed in the making of this".

Others wondered how the ducks would've been able to get past the concrete barriers that line the sides of the highway.

The video attracted worldwide attention, with many more eyes landing on the tweet than the usual Auckland commuters who follow the page for traffic updates. Twitter-users praised the patience of the drivers, with some saying that a scene like that would never happen where they live.

And ultimately, the heart-warming video inspired everyone to do better.

See? There still is some good in the world!