Swiss driver chases car across motorway after it rolls away from him

This is the moment a hapless driver ends up chasing his runaway car down a busy motorway when he seemingly forgot to put the handbrake on.

The CCTV footage from Neuchatel, a French-speaking canton in Switzerland, shows the unnamed man sprinting to catch his own car on a motorway near the town of Colombier.

The mishap happened on Monday when the man parked his car on the hard shoulder so he could talk to a lorry driver, the Daily Mail reports.

But, their conversation was suddenly interrupted when the car started to roll off.

Without thinking of the consequences, the man set off after his vehicle despite being surrounded by speeding lorries and cars.

Luckily the other motorists all managed to brake in time to avoid the chaser but that did not help his unfortunate car.

After careering across the lanes of the motorway it smashed into the crash barrier, which knocked it back onto the motorway where continued to roll back to the other side of the road.

The car ended its runaway journey by crashing into the motorway exit sign on the other side of the road.

The video has quickly become a viral hit in Switzerland, where it has been watched about 200,000 times.

It has not been reported how much damage the car sustained during the crash, or if the man might be liable for a fine.