Police in the southeastern city of Hamina are searching for the owner of a remote-controlled model car which was caught travelling at 70km/h in a 60km/h zone.
The approximately 50-centimetre-long mini-car was captured by a new high-resolution camera on Highway 26 near the village of Töytäri.
Chief inspector Dennis Pasterstein of the Police Traffic Safety Centre told Yle that the car in question should not be considered a toy.
"This is a model car for a more serious enthusiast with a much more powerful engine. Ordinary toys do not travel at such a speed," Pasterstein said, adding that this is a unique case for the safety centre.
"Fortunately, I haven't seen anything like this before. Hopefully this is also the last time. Pranks and games are fun, but the highway is a completely wrong place to play," he added.
Story continues after photo.
In a worst-case scenario, an object that does not belong on the road can lead to an accident.
"For example, a cyclist or motorist may be startled and take evasive action. Unexpected evasive movements can cause collisions," Pasterstein said.
Police believe the owner of the remote controlled car was standing on the side of the road at the time, but they have little chance of positively identifying the owner based on speed camera data.
Cyclists, birds also catch attention of speed cameras
Aside from cars, the newly-installed speed cameras have also occasionally captured other speedsters, including cyclists, birds and other animals.
Pasterstein cites as an example the case of a cyclist in Helsinki, who has been caught on a number of occasions breaking the speed limit of 40km/h on Mechelininkatu.
"The cyclist was clearly travelling at speed. It never occurred to us whether it was a legal electric moped or an electric-assisted bicycle tuned to travel faster than allowed,” Pasterstein said.
Such cyclists could incur fines if caught, he added.
The owner of the remote-controlled car could also face a 100-euro fine, in accordance with section 12 of Finland’s Road Traffic Act.