Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
COPS WARN OVER TIK TOK SPEEDING CRAZE
Fear 173mph clip will encourage copycats
BOY racers have turned quiet streets into race tracks as they film social media videos while driving recklessly at more than 170mph.
Police have warned of the dangers involved and road safety charity Brake is urging social media firms to clamp down on users who upload such clips.
We found a video on TikTok of a driver whose phone recorded him doing 173mph on a motorway. He also drove at high speed in wet conditions, on minor roads and around blind corners.
Some clips of high-speed driving have had thousands of views, raising fears copycats in souped-up cars will try to beat other drivers’ speed records.
Anthony Bangham, of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: “Illegal and inappropriate excessive speed puts lives at risk and can lead to serious collisions.
“The devastating consequences then place additional and unnecessary demand on emergency services. Speed limits are there to protect all road users,”
Brake’s Joshua Harris said: “Promotion of illegal and dangerous driving and riding on social media must be stopped. These actions endanger lives.”
He urged social media platforms to shut down the accounts of users caught encouraging reckless behaviour.
TikTok said: “The safety of our users is our top priority. We launched an investigation as soon as this content was brought to our attention. We work to limit, label, or remove content that depicts dangerous acts or challenges.
“We applied a warning label to this video, reminding users that behaviour of this kind can result in serious injury.”