When a trend goes viral, and millions of people watch, share, and like it, it is inevitable that some will decide to try it themselves, even behind the wheel of a moving car. What sounds like harmless online entertainment can quickly become a recipe for a devastating car accident. Social media challenges have emerged as a genuine and growing threat on our roads, and the consequences for innocent drivers, pedestrians, and passengers can be catastrophic.
How Social Media Fuels Dangerous Driving
Reckless behavior on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat gets rewarded with likes, comments, and shares, and that dopamine-driven feedback loop encourages users to take bigger and bigger risks for the sake of content. For some, that means filming or performing stunts while driving.
A driver who is looking down at a phone to record, stream, or check social media is no longer focused on the road. Research has demonstrated that a driver’s reaction time while using a smartphone can be three times slower than that of a drunk driver. This underscores just how serious this problem has become. Distracted driving kills more than 10 people every single day and injures over 1,000 others.
Viral Challenges That Have Put Lives at Risk
These are some of the social media challenges that have directly contributed to car accidents and serious injuries over the past several years:
- The “Kiki Challenge” (2018): Inspired by a popular Drake song, this trend had drivers exiting moving vehicles to dance alongside them.
- The “Cha Cha Slide Challenge”: This TikTok trend involved drivers steering their vehicles according to the lyrics of a dance song, creating extreme collision risks for everyone nearby.
- The “Kia Challenge” (2022): A viral TikTok series showed viewers how to hotwire certain Kia and Hyundai models, resulting in a nationwide surge in vehicle thefts. Many of those stolen cars were then used for reckless driving stunts that ended in crashes.
- Filming While Driving: Countless “day in the life,” “driving aesthetic,” and “car karaoke” videos involve recording content from behind the wheel. Even brief moments of distraction, such as glancing at a camera or adjusting a phone, can be fatal.
- Car Surfing and Ghost Riding: Some trends encourage drivers to exit or hang outside of moving vehicles entirely. These stunts endanger the participants, distract the driver, and create unpredictable hazards for other motorists
Who Bears Legal Responsibility?
Every driver has a legal duty to operate their vehicle safely and attentively. Choosing to film content, perform a stunt, or exit a moving car for social media followers is a clear and deliberate violation of that duty.
If you were injured by a driver engaged in this kind of reckless behavior, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. Proving negligence in these cases is often supported by strong evidence, including:
- Video footage posted to social media by the at-fault driver
- Eyewitness accounts from the scene
- Traffic and surveillance camera recordings
- Phone records and digital activity logs
- Police reports and any citations or criminal charges filed
It is important to act quickly to preserve this evidence. Social media posts can be deleted, and digital records may not be retained indefinitely. An experienced attorney can take steps to preserve key evidence before it disappears.
What to Do if You Are Injured in a Social Media-Related Crash
If you believe your accident was caused by a driver participating in or recording a social media challenge, take these steps immediately:
- Call 911 and seek medical attention, even if injuries appear minor.
- Document the scene with photos and video if it is safe to do so.
- Collect contact information from any witnesses.
- Request nearby traffic or surveillance footage.
- Screenshot or note any social media activity related to the at-fault driver before it can be deleted.
Contact an attorney before giving any statements to insurance companies.
Piscataway Car Accident Lawyers at Mikita & Roccanova, LLC, Are Here to Help
If you or a loved one has been hurt by a driver who was participating in a viral challenge, the Piscataway car accident lawyers at Mikita & Roccanova, LLC, are ready to fight for the compensation you deserve. Schedule a free initial consultation with one of our attorneys by visiting our website or by calling us today at 732-705-3363. We have offices in Hazlet and Piscataway, NJ, and we serve clients in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.