Deadly ‘Subway Surfing’ Trend Among American Teenagers

As the ‘subway surfing’ trend of riding on moving subways spreads among American teenagers, fatal accidents are occurring one after another.

According to CNN, the New York Police Department announced that 6 people died and 181 people were arrested in accidents related to ‘subway surfing’ from the beginning of this year to the 27th of last month.

‘Subway surfing’, a popular trend among American teenagers, involves riding on top of a moving subway, a behavior that has been going on among teenagers for several years. However, it has recently become popular again among teenagers through TikTok challenges on social networking services (SNS).

A recent accident occurred in Queens, New York, where 12- and 13-year-old girls jumped onto a moving subway, lost their balance, and fell between carriages. A 13-year-old girl died, and a 12-year-old girl suffered a brain hemorrhage.

Before that, a 13-year-old boy died while participating in the ‘Subway Surfing’ challenge. His mother saw his ‘subway surfing’ post and warned him not to get on the train, but the boy did not listen and tried to ‘subway surf’ again, resulting in a disaster.

The New York police launched a campaign last year to prevent ‘subway surfing’. “This risky, thrill-seeking behavior has life-changing consequences,” the NYPD said. They created a slogan that reads, “It is not worth your life or the pain it will bring to your family and friends.”

New York transit authorities announced that they had cooperated with social media companies such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram to delete more than 10,000 subway surfing posts.

14 attorneys general from across the United States have sued TikTok, accusing them of spreading the ‘subway surfing’ challenge on the grounds that the challenge may encourage risky behavior among young users.

By Kim Soo-yeon, Reporter