A 29-year-old man in Denmark is facing 86 charges for reckless driving, which he filmed himself; concerns raised over the fight for internet fame, especially among young drivers.
Fast for fame; Danish driver may face prison
The Danish driver had been detained back in May, this year, for riding a motorcycle without license plates and a valid permit; the police found a video camera on his helmet, which provided evidence of his illegal behaviour. After months of examining this footage and more from his future cases, the police went public with the 86 preliminary charges on Friday, September 13.
“I don´t think I´ve ever seen anything like it,” said Amrik Singh Chadha from the police in eastern Denmark. “There is no doubt that it has been a big and unconventional case for us to investigate.” The police stated that several of the driver´s videos had been posted on social media and shared with large groups of people. Two other reckless drivers had been identified and had their vehicles seized.
The 29-year-old is now likely to face a prison sentence for crimes including driving at high speed on motorcycles, riding on the rear wheel at high speed, and endangering others; as seen by the hours of the driver´s video footage. The police stated that several of the man´s videos had been posted on social media and shared with a larger group of people; they identified two others on the footage and seized their vehicles. The man is likely to face a prison sentence.
Fast for fame; against the laws
In Denmark, reckless driving is considered driving more than 100 per cent above the speed limit, driving 200km per hour or above, or driving with a blood alcohol level above 2,0. Since 2021, the police have been able to confiscate vehicles for reckless driving, impose fines, and suspend driving permits.
Fast for fame; the threats of social media trends
On their internet fame journey, too many drivers have been engaging in reckless behaviour, becoming a threat to themselves and others. A 2021 study by an Australian professor Kayla Stefanidis proved that social media had a direct impact on the rise of glorified reckless driving; “Many people believe they are regularly exposed to pro-speeding content online and this might increase their risk of speeding in the real world.”
Stefanidis discovered in her study that as more speeding content was posted, the number of negative comments about traffic rules and drivers who obey them had risen, promoting dangerous road habits.
Last year, UK court sentenced a driver to 12 years in prison for killing a pregnant mother-of-two while filming himself on his phone, driving at almost 200km per hour. In North Macedonia, a video of a driver going 238km per hour on a road of 130km maximum, went viral on TikTok, unexpectedly causing more applause than condemnation.
Reports in North Macedonia had recently explored the “cha-cha slide” challenge on TikTok, which consists of drivers filming steering their cars to the lyrics of the song Cha-Cha Slide, with sharp, rapid movements and crossings into oncoming traffic. The trend was linked to a recent traffic incident on March 29, in which three people died and four were injured.
“The creators of these videos want to attract attention and gain quick popularity…” said communications expert Sead Dzigal. “Challenges that often turn into competitions with many risks, dangers, adrenaline and the race for quick fame…attract an increasing number of young users every day, which is really worrying.”
