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‘Subway surfing’ is not a new trend. It originated in New York in the 1980s and has recently taken a dramatic turn.
Since 2021, the MTA, the public institution that manages the operation of part of the city’s public transport system, has observed an intensification of the trend. Every year, nearly a thousand people cling to the roof of a moving metro.
Beyond being a kind of recklessness, this upsurge in cases can also be explained by ‘Subway Surfers’, a smartphone video game in which the player must escape the hands of the police, reports France Info. Eventually, palyers of the game share their expereince on the web, and call viewers to watch these sequences as they go viral on social media networks.
A trend that isn’t without any danger. ‘Subway Surfing’ claimed 6 lives in 2024, including an 11-year-old who collided violently with a metal beam. In 2023, at least 4 people (mostly minors) lost their lives. And for those who managed to avoid the worst, they usually ended up injured or arrested by the police.
By the end of October 2024, 180 ‘surfers’ had been arrested.
In an effort to eradicate the problem, the New York City Police Department now uses drones and places officers at strategic locations in the resorts most frequented by these reckless gamblers. New York City has also developed an awareness campaign entitled “Ride inside, stay alive”.
Finally, social media networks have been asked to remove all videos from their platforms so as not to encourage the practice.
