This is the wheel fast moment a driver is caught on camera speeding through traffic on a souped-up electric wheelchair.

The bizarre footage, filmed in Niteroi, in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, on 20th May shows a man wearing a skateboarding helmet as he races through lines of traffic on a packed highway.

The chair, fitted with motorbike-style handlebars, squeezes between lanes of cars as its driver shoots through an underpass before the clip closes.

City Hall traffic officials warned the unidentified driver saying: "Traffic law only allows registered, licensed vehicles and driven by qualified people to circulate on public roads."

They added: "The use of motorised wheelchairs with modifications that turn them into personal vehicles represents a serious risk to both the user and other drivers.

"It is incompatible with road safety standards."

Even the highest rated battery powered wheelchairs are limited to a top speed of eight miles per hour which means the one caught on camera has been heavily adapted.

Police are now understood to be studying the clip and traffic cam footage to identify the driver.

(MJ Leidig/newsX)