Amphibious cars have been around for decades and, despite their drawbacks, are still somewhat popular – within a very small niche. This is perhaps the most exciting headline you’re ever likely to read about one: an amphibian car managed to outrun the police in an impromptu river chase.
The biggest advantage of amphibious cars is, naturally, the fact that they can operate both on land and on water. It’s also their biggest downside: because they’re trying to do two things at once, they’re not particularly good at either. Exceptions do exist, of course, but most amphibious cars are slow on land and slow on water.
As slow as they are, one still managed to be faster than a police-operated boat. A Dutch family vacationing in Germany caused major drama, with a capital D, at the end of last month, as it set sail on the Schwarzer Regen River in Viechtach, Bavaria, near Munich. People called the police to report a “strange vessel” on the river and, once at the scene, officers borrowed a motorized boat from a private individual to engage in a pursuit.
It came to a sudden and unexpected halt when the battery on the borrowed boat died, and the amphibious car was able to get away, Zenger News reports, citing local media. The stranded police were forced to call for help from the Viechtach water rescue service, which adds another layer of hilarity to the story.
Now in the boat of the water rescue service, police were able to overtake the “floating car” and inform the family on board that motorized boats were not allowed on the river. The report notes that the family was informed of “several violations of the water and navigation law,” and the vehicle was removed from the water.
It doesn’t look like the family let this incident put a damper on their water-centric vacation plans, though: two days later, the same vehicle was spotted in the Danube River.
As slow as they are, one still managed to be faster than a police-operated boat. A Dutch family vacationing in Germany caused major drama, with a capital D, at the end of last month, as it set sail on the Schwarzer Regen River in Viechtach, Bavaria, near Munich. People called the police to report a “strange vessel” on the river and, once at the scene, officers borrowed a motorized boat from a private individual to engage in a pursuit.
It came to a sudden and unexpected halt when the battery on the borrowed boat died, and the amphibious car was able to get away, Zenger News reports, citing local media. The stranded police were forced to call for help from the Viechtach water rescue service, which adds another layer of hilarity to the story.
Now in the boat of the water rescue service, police were able to overtake the “floating car” and inform the family on board that motorized boats were not allowed on the river. The report notes that the family was informed of “several violations of the water and navigation law,” and the vehicle was removed from the water.
It doesn’t look like the family let this incident put a damper on their water-centric vacation plans, though: two days later, the same vehicle was spotted in the Danube River.