Arguably a much preferable outcome than getting run over by cars.

There’s much joy to be had in speeding down a smooth pavement on a skateboard. For many, the unique combination of freedom and speed can be rather addictive.

But one man in Ürümqi, China took his love for speedy wheels a little too far. He’d apparently been caught on several surveillance cameras zipping down roads while wearing what is known as a rollerblade bodysuit.

▼ Don’t ever try this if you value your life.

Like its namesake, rollerblade bodysuits consist of sturdy panels attached with motor-powered wheels that can accelerate the wearer to high speeds. It sounds like a really cool toy, but the lack of sufficient padding means that the user’s body is at the mercy of bumpy roads or uneven ground.

What’s worse is that vision is obscured as the wearer is forced to slide at high speeds while facing down, which obviously turned the Chinese man into a disaster just waiting to happen.

▼ One driver said that “it’s just too ridiculous.” We agree.

Local police quickly arrested the daredevil five minutes after he was spotted zooming past cars in his 100,000 CNY (US$14,615) rollerblade bodysuit. When questioned by officers, he admitted traveling to France to learn how to fashion the outfit.

▼ Perhaps his inspiration came from Jackie Chan’s rollerblade bodysuit in Chinese Zodiac.

Japanese netizens found the whole situation amusing nonetheless:

“This is the first time I’ve seen this, but it’s interesting.”
“Did he want to become Jackie Chan?”
“He probably would have been fine if he’d just attached a license plate.”
“Looks fun!”

We’re just glad he was stopped before something bad happened. As cool as speeding around town in a rollerblade bodysuit sounds, as long as you aren’t Jackie Chan, wearing it onto roads clearly meant for cars is going to end up tragic.

Source: YouTube/CoolChina via Toychan
Images: YouTube/CoolChina