Here's Why You Should Never Illegally Park Your Car in Russia: It Could Get Crushed and Towed by a Crane

Many people have a beef with tow trucks. They growl when they seem them trolling around at night looking for offenders who have tried to sneak into permitted parking areas or those parked in the expecting mother's slot who aren't quite showing a baby bump.

Some people may have actively witnessed and cried out as their vehicle was loaded up onto the truck after they ran, pleaded and tried to bribe the operator out of taking it. But when all is said and done, the inconvenience and "paid at the owner's expense" fine are nothing compared to what would happen to your vehicle upon making a parking infringement in Russia.

Instead of slipping your car onto a truck-bed, in Russia a crane might act as a more aggressive tow truck. It's claw grabs hold, crushing through the window glass as it lifts the vehicle and drops it into the back of a dump truck.

(Image: LiveLeak screenshot)

(Image: LiveLeak screenshot)

(Image: LiveLeak screenshot)

Now, we admit, it's unclear if these vehicles are legitimately being towed or were scheduled for pickup to be taken to the car graveyard, but the descriptions in the videos say things like "illegally parked." Perhaps this is the fate of illegally parked cars left in the spot for a long period of time.

Either way, it's a bit shocking to see how they're treated like useless scrap metal.

Check it out:

And these two cars getting the crane treatment look rather new, so it's hard to believe they were already destined for the dump:

Even the cars that are being nicely towed (if that's not an oxymoron) have a crane-type pickup that's not as damaging:

(H/T: Jalopnik)