Transport

These geniuses in Russia's Saint Petersburg obviously thought they were onto a winner and probably getting a bit tired after their attempts to jump start their broken down vehicle. So why not let the bus do all the hard work? With the driver busy collecting passengers surely no one would even notice a small car attached by rope.What happens next becomes fairly predictable when you realise there's no one in the car to steer or use brakes as the bus starts pulling… The attempts to stop the car are reminiscent of what Jerry Seinfeld calls "classic male idiot super-hero thinking". You know the type of situation where a mattress on the roof of a car is held together with an arm out the window...And even with the only logical explanation for this being... vodka, it's worth noticing the police response times in Russia are fantastic.This reporter is on Twitter: @VladCARSWatch the desktop version of the bus towing video. 

The easiest devices are external and require no bike disassembly. That is, a rear carrier or some roof racks. But these may not guarantee security and can be susceptible to damage in an accident, or breakage of the carrier or its tethers. Tow-bar mounted racks are quick and easy to carry and can have quick release devices to remove them entirely. Tow-bar bike beaks are priced from about $120 (Buzz Rack), $400 (4-bike Yakima) and $649 (Thule Reece-hitch bar). Strap-on racks can be transferred between vehicles but will require a lot of adjustment to fit correctly. They also carry a fear of coming adrift from the car. Strap-on racks cost from about $100 (Allen) to $250 (Saris Bones). Roof-top carriers are handy because they reduce the risk of theft. But taller vehicles, including SUVs, can make installation of the bicycle difficult and introduce the potential for damage to the bicycles from passing low overhead trees or bridges or even driver distraction when entering a garage. Roof-top carriers are priced from $70 per bike plus roof rack but can be used to also load kayaks, timber, surfboards and so on. Floor mounts - often called cool bars - fit into a ute tray. They are a single bar with quick-release attachments for the front wheels. The front wheel must be removed (to be stored elsewhere) and the bikes are carried upright, making it possible to fit three bikes abreast on the tray. Cool bars for utes, trucks and wagons cost from about $90 for a single-block mount (Thule), $270 for a two-bike bar (Yakima) and a three-bike is about $400 (Thule). Placing a bike within a vehicle interior has maximum security but you need a large vehicle and generally only two occupants. Bicycles usually have to have the front wheels removed to fit. The process can be awkward but does away with the need for additional carrying gear. And there's no extra cost. To paraphrase Fats Waller: my pedal extremities are colossal. That is, one day I'll whirr through side streets on the old $1000 road bike and lock it in the well-patronised racks four floors below the throbbing nerve centre of Carsguide. Next day in a $90K Audi I'll be giving the brakes and clutch a workout along a favoured obscure escarpment. Comrade Dowling's suggestions for family and cycle-friendly conveyances bring those poles closer and, we can but hope, might help to get a little love on the roads. The more I see of other cyclists from the saddle, and of other drivers from behind the wheel, the greater the need I see for anguished types on either side to pull their heads in. Drivers, less aggression please, riders have scant protection; and as ESP is not a licence requirement, could you use the blinkers? Cyclists, stop being so pious and work on being pragmatic; put some air in the tyres, lube the chain (and the place for the helmet is on the head, not draped on the handlebars). If this apartheid is to crumble, we'll need competent drivers and confident cyclists. If the former foster the latter, by taking them to the parks and paths to gain skills, so much the better. Meanwhile, to paraphrase George Orwell: two wheels good, four wheels good too.  

Anyone that has caught a cab in Tokyo will not forget the experience in a hurry. The cabs come in the shape of throwback Toyota and Nissan models like the Crown and Cedric that have their origins in another era. They're cars designed and built more than 20 years ago but still manufactured today because they fill a specific need. Their popularity extends to other parts of South East Asia where they are also used as taxis but it looks like the Crown's run could finally be coming to an end, with the launch this week of an all new car designed especially for the role. Toyota's new take on the Tokyo taxi is a modern, hi-tech model powered by a fuel saving LPG based hybrid system, with gas and electric motors. The boxy upright design of the JPN Taxi Concept bears more than a passing resemblance to the London cab. It targets ease of entry and exit and a comfortable interior with a size that will deliver outstanding manoeuvrability in Tokyo's crowded city streets. It employs a new, economical liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) hybrid system with excellent environmental performance that has been optimised for taxi driving patterns. The design features familiar taxi proportions, with an electrically operated sliding door on the passenger-seat side. The display panel and lamps were selected with visibility and safety in mind. The interior design conveys hospitality, placing priority on universal design principles and modern expression. A large monitor provides information to passengers, such as the route to the destination and taxi fares. Air conditioning and lighting have also been optimised to provide the most comfortable space possible. For the driver, there are specially designed instruments and gauges for taxi use. The vehicle has been created in line with the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's promotion of barrier-free buses and taxis tailored to regional needs. This reporter is on Twitter: @IamChrisRiley  

Gently, gently, turn it over and … no, you’re doing it wrong. This tow truck driver tries to right an overturned Mazda 3 and fails spectacularly. Watch the tow truck fail video on desktop version here. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

Watch the Danish bus ad here. 

A woman fleeing police had a miraculous escape on Sunday after her car was hit by two trains. Police officers tried to stop the 29-year-old woman around 8am after receiving reports of an 'unwanted guest disturbance' at a home in Woods Cross, Utah, in the US.Her Mercedes E-Class was hit by an oncoming train as she tried to flee police and while officers attempted to pull her from the wreck, the vehicle was hit a second time by another train that came barreling down the tracks.Following the first collision, which was caught on the patrol car's dash-cam, officers can be seen rushing to the car to help the woman. Despite her car being hit by two trains, she walked away from the accident with only a broken arm. No one else was injured in the incident.Police had ended up in a short chase with the woman when she refused to pull over for officers. On the dash-cam, the driver can be see heading for the tracks as a train comes down the line. After the first train smashed into the car, the vehicle was hit by a second train .The car was totaled by the crash.It is unclear whether the woman was intoxicated. She faces charges of evading arrest and police are investigating if further charges will be brought. Watch both trains collide with the Mercedes here.  

What better way to show off the tow hook on the front of Volvo's FMX range of trucks than to suspend the whole truck from a crane, hanging from its tow hook? Volvo has gone two steps better by suspending the whole lot over Gothenberg Harbour in Sweden, and then placing the company's president Claes Nilsson on the truck's nose.  Following on from Volvo Trucks' tight-rope walker film, this new instalment highlights the tow hook's 32 tonne rating, which in reality is hardly being taxed by the circa 20-tonne FMX truck.   Watch the Volvo Trucks hook video here.    

It might not be pretty, but the Belaz 75710 is the strongest dump truck in the world. This monster is capable of carrying an incredible 450 tonnes (metric). That means it can out-lug the existing dirt moving titans from America, including Caterpillar and Terex, as well as Japan's Komatsu and Germany's Liebherr. So where is Belaz from? Belarus. That's one of former Soviet Union states and it borders Ukraine, Poland and Russia. If you're from the bush, there's a good chance you'll remember tractors wearing the Belarus name that were sold here in the 1980s. This writer will never forget driving one, picking up hay bales as a teenager too young for a car licence. The brakes didn't work properly, which was unfortunate given the hilly terrain. It was rubbish. I was blamed for a damaging the clutch and my career as a tractor driver ended after just one day. I hear the tractors from Belarus are much improved now that the country has emerged from the quagmire of communism. Belaz, full name Belarusian Autoworks, started up in 1948 as the USSR got back onto its feet after World War II, which had devastated much of the country. Few of us Westerners have seen one, but Belaz claims that every third mining truck operating globally wears the Belaz name. It has a full range of dump trucks, but until now, the most capable has been one that can carry 360 tonnes. Now Belaz has topped that with the 450 tonne truck and says it has already written to the Guinness World Records to make sure it gets recognition as the truck that can haul the greatest weight anywhere in the world. It's a whopper and stands just over 8 metres tall, is nearly 10 metres wide and is 20 metres long. The truck might be built in Belarus, but for the engine, Belaz did something it would have never done in Soviet times and looked to America for help. It uses Detroit Diesel power in the form of two V16 turbo diesel engines. One is used to power the hydraulics, which assist the steering and lifts the bucket, while the other produces energy to turn the wheels. Each engine produces a whopping 1715kW. These generate enough force to allow the big Belaz to hit a top speed of 60km/h. It can reportedly maintain 40km/h when climbing a 10 per cent gradient while fully loaded. Together, the engines add 19,200kg to the total weight of the truck. Even without a load on board, the big Belaz weighs a remarkable 360 tonnes. The engine dedicated to moving the truck generates energy that is sent through four electric motors that turn each wheel set. This method offers the advantage of being able to slow a fully loaded truck by using the electric motors. There are also regular service brakes, but these are only used in addition to the electric motors. The hot exhaust gases from both engines are used to heat the steel bucket. This might sound odd, but by heating the bucket, any sticky mud is dried out and is therefore easier to remove. There are two fuel tanks, which add up to a massive 5600 litres, to allow the Belaz to run a long shift. Options include an automatic fire suppression system, external cameras to improve the field of vision, a diagnostics system and self-inflating tyres. The 450-tonne Belaz truck is seen as a symbol of national pride in Belarus and the president, Alexander Lukashenko, recently attended the plant and went for a test ride in the new model.  

A motorist was hunted down by a pack of motorcyclists and slashed in front of his wife and child after running over several bikes in New York.The harrowing chase, which ended with the enraged bikers smashing the SUV driver’s side window open and slashing him in Washington Heights, was captured by a camera apparently attached to a biker’s helmet, producing a 6-plus minute video that quickly went viral on YouTube and elsewhere.The New York Post reports that the driver – who the paper named as 33-year-old Alexian Lien and who was travelling with his wife and child – was rushed to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital for stitches after the attack, police sources said.It was unclear what started the dispute, but in the video, several dozen speeding bikers surround a dark-coloured Range Rover with New York plates heading northbound on the highway in northern Manhattan, with one motorcyclist purposely slowing down in front of the SUV and forcing Mr Lien to stop about 2pm.Others quickly park in front of it as one biker dismounts and starts walking threateningly toward the vehicle. At that point Mr Lien guns the engine and crashes over several bikes and speeds off in a desperate bid to escape. The bikers pursue Mr Lien through northern Manhattan and block him again as he gets caught behind another vehicle, with one biker yanking open his door.But Mr Lien guns it again and manages to get away after knocking another bike to the ground. Finally, traffic forces the SUV to stop on West 178th street. One rider then rips off his helmet and uses it to bash in the driver’s side window as the video ends. Police say the crew then slashed Mr Lien in front of his wife and child.  No arrests have been made and police are investigating the assault.Watch the Bikers hunt down SUV driver video here. 

Google is aiming to create a fleet of driverless 'robo-taxis' that could do away with the need for people to run their own cars.The tech giant's revolutionary concept for cars operated by computers would apparently improve safety by slashing the number of accidents caused by human error. The cost of the vehicles – about £100,000 each – has deterred car manufacturers from embracing the project.But US tech insiders say Google is talking to major auto component companies such as Continental AG and Magna International about creating its own 'robo-taxi' ranks in major cities.A cabbie would be at the wheel at first, as emergency back-up, with drivers being phased out over time. Clients would hail the cab and pay for it on their smartphone. Google's robotic cars have been cleared to drive in four states in the US, and UK legislators have given permission for tests.The futuristic cars have so far been involved in only two accidents – one in which a car was rear-ended after it stopped at a red light and the other when a human driver took control of the vehicle.