Watch: Lithuanian Mayor Crushes Illegally Parked Car With a Tank

  • Share
  • Read Later
Vilnius City Municipality

Say you’re the mayor of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, and you’re plagued by illegal parkers. What do you do? Why, pack into an eight-wheeled armored vehicle, pop out the top hatch in your Sunday best, and pancake the offending vehicle, of course.

No, that’s not computer-generated imagery, it’s really a grinning 43-year-old Mayor Arturas Zuokas poking out of a tank, one arm akimbo, admiring his handiwork as the monster-combat-vehicle rolls over the top of someone’s alleged illegally parked automobile.

It’s almost certainly staged, but according to the official Vilnius city website, “The Mayor has come up with a novel way of fighting illegal parking which has become an issue.” The mayor himself appears on a bike, first pedaling near the offending vehicle.

“In the past few days, expensive cars have been illegally parked in almost this exact same place – a Rolls Royce and a Ferrari. What should the city do about drivers who think that they are above the law?” reads the narration in the video, concluding “a tank is the best solution.” Well duh. And then the mayor climbs into one, directing it up and over the expensive-looking vehicle apparently parked in a pedestrian lane.

(MORE: The Essence of a Country: Lithuania’s National Scent Gets Bottled)

“That’s what will happen if you park your car illegally,” he says once he’s finished and just before a man dressed in an upscale white blazer and wearing a gold neck chain appears on scene—the owner, apparently mortified.

“Next time, park your car legally,” says the mayor, shaking the man’s hand pleasantly before towing the wreck and personally broom-sweeping a sprinkling of shattered glass. He then hops back on his bike and pedals away.

According to the BBC, the “stunt” was videoed for a Swedish TV series, “99 Things You Should Do Before You Die.” But we doubt any Lithuanians will take liberties while parking anytime soon.

Matt Peckham is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @mattpeckham or on Facebook. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.