Young people have always been drawn to risky behavior, and the latest dangerous thrill is called "ghost riding.” Ghost riding usually takes place on residential streets where the driver and passengers jump out of a slow moving vehicle to dance beside or on top of their "whip" (hip hop slang for car). When the vehicle begins to “drift away”, the driver jumps back in to regain control; that is if an accident does not happen first.
This deadly stunt began in the San Francisco Bay Area and is quickly spreading nationwide, especially on the Internet, with young people making and posting hundreds of ghost-riding videos online. Teens attempt the stunt on suburban roads, open fields, parking lots and even on the freeway. Some of the stunts are highly choreographed, with kids jumping in and out of moving cars.
Police have blamed at least eight deaths on ghost riding. The recent deaths of two Central Florida youths show the danger of “ghost riding” and other car stunts. Car stunts might look cool on reality shows, YouTube, and in the movies, but they are causing more accidents and deadly consequences as a result of this risky behavior. According to the Center for Disease Control, nearly 100 people have died because of car surfing. Even at speeds as low as five miles per hour, serious injuries and fatalities can occur.
Car surfing is when one person hangs out of the vehicle or rides on top of it, on the bumper, or on the running boards. Ghost riding involves a person standing or dancing on the exterior while the vehicle is in motion. Skitching is another deadly stunt by young adults. It is when someone uses a skateboard, roller skates, or other device to hang onto a moving vehicle. All of these activities are dangerous; all of them are quite simply − stupid behavior. Moving vehicles are not toys! Only professionals in controlled environments should be attempting such stunts.
Mark Bello has thirty-three years experience as a trial lawyer and twelve years as an underwriter and situational analyst in the lawsuit funding industry. He is the owner and founder of Lawsuit Financial Corporation which helps provide legal finance cash flow solutions and consulting when necessities of life litigation funding is needed by a plaintiff involved in pending, personal injury, litigation. Bello is a Justice Pac member of the American Association for Justice, Sustaining and Justice Pac member of the Michigan Association for Justice, Business Associate of the Florida, Tennessee, and Colorado Associations for Justice, a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan and the Injury Board.
