Skip to main content

Back in time

A car thief in the US has been the butt of many jokes after failing in his attempt to steal a DeLorean DMC-12 sports car. The vehicle was parked by the roadside and had attracted the interest of many passers-by when the thief intervened and forced the owner out of the car, then drove off at speed, but police were alerted quickly. A low speed chase ensued and after a short distance, the thief crashed the car into another vehicle. The DeLorean DMC-12 was made famous by the Back to the Future series of movies
February 9, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
A car thief in the US has been the butt of many jokes after failing in his attempt to steal a DeLorean DMC-12 sports car. The vehicle was parked by the roadside and had attracted the interest of many passers-by when the thief intervened and forced the owner out of the car, then drove off at speed, but police were alerted quickly. A low speed chase ensued and after a short distance, the thief crashed the car into another vehicle. The DeLorean DMC-12 was made famous by the Back to the Future series of movies in which the car is adapted to travel through time. Many commentators ridiculed the thief saying that if he had used a flux capacitor and driven at precisely 88mph, he would have been able to time-hop and elude arrest. Others have commented that if the thief had stolen a more common model when there were no other witnesses, he might have been able to escape the police. Meanwhile in the UK, the owner of a DeLorean DMC-12 was caught speeding at 88mph. He admitted speeding but said the road was clear of other traffic at the time and commented that he was not attempting to time travel. The man avoided being fined however as the officers who booked him did not turn up in court, perhaps because they got their times wrong?

Related Content

  • Traffic control to beat congestion
    November 6, 2012
    Max Lay discusses how congestion has posed problems throughout history from early civilisation to the present day One of the earliest known human settlements was at the Springs of Elisha at Jericho. Inevitably, locals collecting fresh water from the springs would encounter other water carriers. When a path was too narrow, or access to it was too limited, or it crossed another path, some carriers would find it necessary to stand aside for others. Priority in such cases might be based on common courtesy and p
  • VIDEO: Get me to the church on time, and fast
    November 12, 2015
    God willing, two nuns in northern Slovakia caught on camera speeding managed to get home, or to the church, safely and on time. The sister, accompanied by another nun, was pushing her Skoda Fabia with religious conviction to around 160kph, or 100mph. However, they haven’t been the fastest nuns around Europe in recent years. In 2009, a nun in Italy, near Turin, was stopped by police for nudging upwards of 180kph – 110mph. The UK’s Daily Mail newspaper reported at the time that “demon driver Sister T
  • Three wheeler
    February 22, 2012
    A British man arrested by police for drunk driving recently displayed an incredible lack of awareness. Police said that they spotted that the man's vehicle was missing a front wheel as it drove past a patrol car. Pursuing the man was not difficult as officers followed the trail of sparks and they then managed to persuade the errant driver to bring his wounded vehicle to a halt. Tests showed him to be three times over the limit for alcohol and he was banned from driving for three years. He had driven a dista
  • All at sea
    February 22, 2012
    A Finnish man was recently clocked by the country's police driving a car at over 329km/h (205.48mph), in the Baltic Sea.