DOT Videos Aim to Boost Road Safety
The British government is urging social media companies to remove videos that glorify dangerous driving, following fatal crashes involving vehicles traveling the wrong way on major roads in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Government calls for removal of dangerous-driving videos
Officials said platforms should take down content that celebrates reckless behavior behind the wheel, including videos showing high-speed driving, road racing, travel on footpaths and driving on the wrong side of the road.
The government also warned that it may use powers under the Online Safety Act to compel platforms to remove content that remains online. The call comes amid concerns that viral videos and the pursuit of online attention may encourage dangerous driving.
Fatal crashes raise concerns
At about 3:30 a.m. local time Saturday, two police officers were killed when a Volkswagen Passat collided with their marked vehicle on the A66 in the United Kingdom, according to the report.
The incident was among a series of fatal crashes that prompted renewed scrutiny of videos depicting drivers intentionally traveling the wrong way on roads. Officials are examining whether online footage is contributing to the behavior.
Videos appear across multiple platforms
BBC Verify identified dozens of videos showing dangerous driving, including high-speed car chases and vehicles traveling on footpaths or against traffic. The content has appeared on multiple platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and X.
Road-safety organization IAM RoadSmart reported that one in seven drivers under age 24 had filmed themselves driving during the previous year. Some of those recordings were later posted to social media.
Mary Aiken, a professor of forensic cyberpsychology at the University of East London, said the desire for excitement and peer approval was not new, but social media had amplified the behavior and increased its visibility.
