Lithuanian mayor crushes parked cars with tank: viral video spotlight

(2011 YouTube, LLC)

In an effort to dissuade motorists from parking in cycle lanes, the mayor of Vilnius has taken to crushing illegally parked cars with a tank - sparking two viral videos.

The stunt, which took place in Lithuania's capital, Vilnius, involved the mayor Arturas Zuokas driving an armored personnel carrier over a Mercedes illegally parked in a cycle lane.

The incident was recorded by a film crew and was designed to discourage motorists from parking illegally. However, the mayor's unusual approach to parking violations has an attracted international media attention and gone viral on the internet.

Two videos of the incident have gone viral on YouTube; they have gained a combined total of over 800,000 views in two days and as of August 3 were both trending within the top ten of YouTube's "most watched today" chart .

 The first video, A.Zuokas tanku kovojo prieš nelegaliai statomus automobilius, has, as of 10am GMT August 3, 451,720 views, 1,109 likes and is currently the sixth most watched video today on YouTube.

The second video, Vilnius Mayor A.Zuokas Fights Illegally Parked Cars with Tank, has 275,207 views and 2,728 likes and is ranked tenth in YouTube's most watched today charts.

"A.Zuokas tanku kovojo prieš nelegaliai statomus automobilius": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvGaSct3cJk

"Vilnius Mayor A.Zuokas Fights Illegally Parked Cars with Tank":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-fWN0FmcIU