Hot Wheels: Cops Seek Owner of Speeding Toy Car

TOYTARI, Finland — By Daniel Ford

Finnish cops are seeking a speeding driver with a twist.

A traffic camera captured a remote-controlled toy car doing 70 kph (43.5 mph) in a 60 kph (37.3 mph) zone near the appropriately named village of Toytari.

The miniature car was snapped by a high-resolution camera as it sped down the main drag between the town of Hamina and Toytari in the southern Finnish region of Kymenlaakso.

The police were not amused.

“Pranks and games are fun, but the highway is completely the wrong place to play,” said Toytari police spokesperson Dennis Pasterstein. He added the speeding toy car could have surprised a real driver and caused an accident.

 The model appears to have a much more powerful engine than most toy cars and was probably owned by a “serious enthusiast,” he said.

The remote-controlled vehicle, estimated to be about 50 centimeters (roughly 29 inches) long, was recorded speeding on Finnish National Road 26. 

Authorities suspect the toy car operator was nearby at the time, but have been unable to identify him or her from the available CCTV footage. The search for that person continues. 

It was not immediately known if the remote driver was breaking any laws. Authorities may just advise not to run the car on the road, so as not to startle other drivers.

Though the remote-controlled car captured on film was going fast, such vehicles (called RCs by enthusiasts) are capable of reaching even higher speeds. 

(Edited by Matthew Hall and Fern Siegel)