There lived a certain man
In Russia not long ago…
Seemingly ordinary Russian men are prone to incredible — even Herculean — feats of strength and endurance, but the world didn’t know this until cheap dash cams became available in the Motherland. Watch as one truck (or SUV, we can’t tell) challenges its owner to a race.
That, an impromptu pants change leads to disaster in Vermont, and what to do if you spot a police officer driving your stolen Nissan, all after the break.
Strong, like Lada
When they’re not folding down the sun visor to block the annoying glow of potentially catastrophic meteor explosions, Russian men enjoy long-distance jogging. Take this man, for example.
There’s little context for this video, but the two-vehicle party seems to be headed up a hillside logging road for some recreational fun. It’s all quite peaceful. Russian Man clearly enjoys outdoor winter urination (and frankly, who doesn’t? It’s fun to write Vladimir in Cyrillic using nature’s favorite highlighter), but firmly applying the parking brake is not his favorite pastime.
The inevitable happens, and the chase is on. During the SUV’s 40-second getaway, high banks keep the vehicle on the road until its eventual rollover. Amazingly, Russian Man keeps his balance and catches up to the vehicle twice, but how you pull a vehicle to a stop? The answer: you don’t.
Russian Man’s friends have their own vehicle, meaning he won’t be marooned in the spooky white wilderness, though you have to wonder if they can lift the thing upright on their own. Wait, they’re Russians — of course they can!
Pants once again lead to heartbreak
Don’t do what this man did.
According to the Burlington Free Press, a tractor-trailer driver who rolled his rig in Vermont Wednesday was in the process of changing his pants at the time of the accident.
The rig, driven by 62-year-old Allen Johnson Sr. of Meriden, Connecticut, rolled off the I-89 near Williston, Vermont, at around 9:25 a.m. Wednesday. Johnson blew a 0.209 during a roadside sobriety test, which is five times past the legal limit for commercial drivers.
“Investigation also revealed that while Johnson was traveling north on the interstate at 63 miles per hour in a full size tractor trailer unit, he stood up from his driver’s seat and was attempting to change his pants in the front cab,” the Vermont State Police said in a statement. “Johnson was standing up vertically between the two front cab seats while his truck was in motion.”
Boozing and cruising doesn’t mix, but switching your ensemble while behind the wheel adds a whole ‘nother level of danger.
Man! Stop that officer, he’s stealing my car!
South Africa seems to have some troubles with crime and, just maybe, corruption. Four out of 10 South Africans say they’ve been a victim of crime during a six-month period earlier this year, and theft — like everywhere — is a major concern.
After thieves made five attempts to make off with one woman’s Nissan Sentra, the elderly pensioner discovered it missing from outside her Durban home. Unable to afford a replacement, Chumpawathie Rajpal reported the crime to police, then waited. No leads.
Six weeks later, Rajpal noticed a remarkably similar maroon Sentra parked outside her local branch of the South African Police Service, IOL reports. Numerous minor characteristics told her it was her car, but the station told her it belonged to a policeman. The plate had since been changed, with the vehicle registered to someone else.
Officers wouldn’t tell Rajpal who owned it, but she did end up confronting the owner — an officer who claimed it belonged to his mother before driving off.
“My hard-earned money was used to purchase the car,” she said. “Five attempts were made to steal it. I spent money repairing the locks, ignition and wiring.”
At last report, Rajpal had reported the incident to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate. That group’s promise? We’ll look into it. Good luck finding a new used vehicle, Ms. Rajpal.
[Images: screen capture/YouTube; Sandwich/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)]
I love the Benny Hill sound track.
Too bad Ms. Rajpal couldn’t have snapped a photo of the VIN through the windshield. Maybe then she’d have a stronger case. Maybe.
Police officers stealing and parting out cars is also a huge problem in Mexico. Most likely it’s commonplace in any 3rd world country, where, by definition, corruption is the rule instead of the exception.
Hitlery’s America, in other words.
Everybody just imagine the Captain Picard facepalm pic here.
http://i.imgur.com/5JaFlhU.jpg?1
For those who don’t live in seriously cold areas ~ setting the parking brake isn’t usually done because it often freezes there incapacitating the vehicle .
I remember when one of our drivers was driving a big rig pulling a huge trailer full of equipments on heavy Los Angeles rush hour traffic, pants around his knees as he wanked off ~ when he plowed into the end of a long line of stopped vehicles at slow speed one managed to get scooped up and landed on the cab of his truck….
Of course our Garage was right across the freeway so we all piled into some City vehicles and drove over to point and laugh a him =8-) .
-Nate
@Nate – valid point about the park brake freezing in cold weather. It isn’t going to hurt the vehicle to shut it off and leave it in gear while you go relieve yourself. Stopping on a hill in the conditions seen in the video is pretty stupid even if you aren’t stepping out to pizz.
By 1969 I’d had enough frozen key locks, parking brake cables, on and on and…..
-Nate
Judging by the HVAC vents and the way they flank the screen (and given the offroad setting), I’m guessing this is a Land Cruiser Prado 120 that took a tumble. The truck seen in front is an UAZ Patriot.