‘They’re thinking about the likes’: deadly TikTok motorway trend horrifies Ireland
Social media platforms face public ire after fatal crash involving teenagers filming themselves driving on wrong side Videos often begin with the camera panning across a glowing dashboard as a gloved hand starts the ignition. The camera turns to show figures with masked faces in the rear seat, who are also filming, and swivels back to show the windscreen. Beyond it, a dark cityscape. The engine…
TikTok users have been engaging in a deadly motorway trend in Ireland, involving teenagers filming themselves driving on the wrong side of the road. The trend has sparked outrage and debate about policing, criminal justice, social services, and social media regulation following a collision last week that killed five teenagers and critically injured a family of four.
The victims were driving the wrong way down the M9 motorway, heading to Dublin airport for a wedding in the UK. The boys, known to police, were involved in reckless driving previously, with three also known to the child welfare agency. Experts suggest that the hybrid behavior of simultaneously driving and filming, seeking attention from peers, has been amplified by social media.
This phenomenon has prompted calls for greater regulation and enforcement of social media platforms.
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