Meter Maids Gone Wild - How A Lithuanian Mayor Deals With Illegal Parking

Note: This is not real! Well, the Mercedes was real, but the mayor paid for it out of his own pocket.

Illegal Parking: One Mayor's Ultimate Urban Solution

Illegal parking is one of the most stubborn and annoying problems plaguing crowded urban America.

Authorities have tried tickets. They didn't even work on state Sen. Barack Obama back in Chicago years ago. Many cities have tried tow-aways. They've tried the incapacitating Denver boot.

But now Arturas Zuokas has devised a new strategy that pretty much guarantees a particular offending vehicle will not be illegally parking ever again.

Zuokas is the mayor of Vilnius in Lithuania. He was elected in April after two previous terms interrupted by some kind of bribery scandal. But that's not the issue here. The issue is illegal parking by rich people who ignore the laws with their fancy cars.

The fact that the mayor purchased the Mercedes himself and purposely parked it there to make this compelling municipal public service message does not detract from the object lesson that some Vilnius drivers no doubt learned.

All I have to say is wow.....what a jerk &%* I mean it is badass to come rolling down the road in a tank transport device to destroy someones car. But does he really have to power to do such a thing? I can imagine people would be rioting the streets if this happaned all the time. Maybe it was some sort of political stunt, the guy in the back of the tank seemed like he was enjoying it a bit to much.

Originally posted by Eastern1Stranger
All I have to say is wow.....what a jerk &%* I mean it is badass to come rolling down the road in a tank transport device to destroy someones car. But does he really have to power to do such a thing? I can imagine people would be rioting the streets if this happaned all the time. Maybe it was some sort of political stunt, the guy in the back of the tank seemed like he was enjoying it a bit to much.

It's Lithuania not the New England....

I would think common people should be happy about this, they are complaining about rich people driving nice cars and not obeying the law....


Can't win either way it seems.


Edit: I have been Hoaxed, I never checked the source!

In other news, mayor's assassination possibly linked to local crime syndicate.

We need more Officials with the Cohones to do stunts like this in the western world, i doubt it would solve much but at least wed have something to chuckle over whilst were getting screwed

Originally posted by BeyondPerception
Illegal Parking: One Mayor's Ultimate Urban Solution

Illegal parking is one of the most stubborn and annoying problems plaguing crowded urban America.

Authorities have tried tickets. They didn't even work on state Sen. Barack Obama back in Chicago years ago. Many cities have tried tow-aways. They've tried the incapacitating Denver boot.

But now Arturas Zuokas has devised a new strategy that pretty much guarantees a particular offending vehicle will not be illegally parking ever again.

Zuokas is the mayor of Vilnius in Lithuania. He was elected in April after two previous terms interrupted by some kind of bribery scandal. But that's not the issue here. The issue is illegal parking by rich people who ignore the laws with their fancy cars.

Read more...

This was fake news. There was a thread earlier on ATS this and the video and news article was debunked. The original tittle of the thread is laughable but the content is whats important. heres the link.fake news story

This was a stunt to promote bicycle usage in Vilnius, Lithuania's capital. Mayor Arturas Zuokas, an avid bicyclist himself, staged this dramatic "prank" for a Swedish TV show and, at the same time, used the opportunity to promote cycling in Vilnius.

The mayor has long urged city residents to take up cycling
The mayor of Lithuania's capital, Vilnius, has been filmed using an armoured vehicle to crush a car parked illegally in a cycle lane.
"That's what will happen if you park your car illegally," Mayor Arturas Zuokas, an avid cyclist, says in a clip posted on the Vilnius City website.
The apparent owner then arrives to see his wrecked Mercedes being towed.
The stunt was shot over the weekend for a popular Swedish TV series, 99 Things You Should Do Before You Die.N"Vilnius seemed friendly, modern and full of surprises - like the town mayor," the Vilnius City website quotes Swedish TV host Macka Edlund as saying.
In the video, Mr Zuokas ticks off the car's owner, sweeps up the broken glass from the wreckage and then hops on a bicycle and rides off - a scenario many cyclists would relish.
"You have to have a sense of humour in my line of work and I thought this would be a way of drawing attention to the fact that the city intends to be proactive in its fight against illegal parking," the mayor was quoted as saying by the Small World News Service.
The BBC's Russian Service reporter in Vilnius, Aushra Radzeviciute, says illegal parking is not a big problem in the city, but in its central streets it is strictly prohibited.
Mr Zuokas has long urged city resident to take up cycling, introducing various bicycle schemes and cycle lanes in his time in office. SOURCE

And while Lithuania might not be as "modern" as New England ... since it's independence from the Soviet Union, Lithuania has made extraordinary strides in modernization and development.

the story might be fake, but if they ever did this kind of thing for real, they had better make sure the car is empty first. i just have visions of the kids being left in the car or the pets.

reply to post by lifeform11



I assure you.....the story was merely a publicity stunt shot for Swedish TV and to promote cycling in Vilnius. Unlike what some might believe, Lithuania is not a back-water country. It's a highly educated country of three million which is making great strides to shake off the dust of decades of Soviet domination. Yes, it has political corruption and a high crime rate but what nation doesn't? Furthermore, consider the influence of Russian mobs.

Vilnius is the home of the geographic center of Europe. It is a member of the European Union and a member of NATO. Lithuania even has troops serving in Afghanistan.