While worrying about your car giving out while on your daily commute may be a common worry for some, you can usually count on the road doing its job and not collapsing.
Following a recent sinkhole incident, drivers in Latvia's capital city of Riga won't have the same faith in their road after a pair German cars fell victim to a collapsing piece of pavement in the city centre.
— arnis (@arnisraats) June 5, 2020
According to a local report, a BMW station wagon and Mercedes-Benz sedan ended up in a couple of holes on the stretch of road. While the Mercedes driver reportedly managed to get out at the last second, the BMW driver wasn't so lucky.
After the surface layer gave way, the rough cobblestone street stood no chance against the weighty BMW wagon. It was reportedly a write-off after the unfortunate incident.
When speaking to reporters, the city of Riga's construction representative Linda Rence explained that the road was overdue for a failure like this. "During tests with increased pressure the network burst, which resulted in damages. The network in question was created in 1963 and has since used up its potential."
While sinkholes may seem like a rarity, they have a habit of swallowing cars around the world. Recently, a burst water main in Pennsylvania left one driver lucky to be alive after his car was completely swallowed by the watery hole.
Another famous car v sinkhole incident occurred back in 2014 at America's Corvette Museum when eight classic Corvettes fell victim to a massive sinkhole opening up beneath the museum's main hall.
Just three Corvettes made it back to the display hall in perfect condition following the incident, as five were deemed to be damaged beyond repair. These five cars are now arguably the most popular attraction at the museum.