In Europe, motorized bollards are often use to restrict traffic flow or limit access at certain times of the day. When a bus or emergency vehicle approaches, the barrier is lowered; when the vehicle drive over the bollard, it’s automatically raised, with the occasional catastrophic result for following drivers.

We’re not sure of the back-story on this video, found on Carscoop, but it looks like either the Smart car's driver tried to follow a bus over the bollard or parked in exactly the wrong spot at exactly the wrong time. In either case, it will likely be an expensive lesson to learn, as cars aren’t designed to be lifted by their front bumpers.

Luckily, those of us in the United States don’t have to worry about motorized bollards (at least not that we’ve ever seen). Perhaps it’s due to our climate extremes or perhaps it’s due to our litigation-heavy society, but in either case these are a road hazard we need not concern ourselves with.

Do you wonder what happens when moving car meets rising and immovable object? You’ll want to check out the video below, which goes to show that things for the Smart’s driver could have turned out even worse.