The case in summary: A dangerous trend has spread among children, where they jump in front of speeding trucks to get likes and attention on social media. Truck driver Nikolai Mæland and the police express concern about the trend, which apparently started in Asia and has reached Norway. The police have received many tips about such cases, and the age of those attempting the challenge varies from 14-16 years. The Norwegian Lorry Association has sent out a survey to its members, and several drivers have experienced or seen such incidents. The police in Ålesund have sent out a letter of concern, and a secondary school in the area has followed up the case to prevent and stop new incidents. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – It’s a bad ass idea. Don’t do it! Truck driver Nikolai Mæland considers the trend to be life-threatening. Photo: Private This is what truck driver Nikolai Mæland says in a video he has published on TikTok. On the same platform, several children and young people participate in a life-threatening challenge. The challenge is to jump in front of speeding cars and trucks on the roads, and see how long you dare to stand there before plunging away from the vehicle. In videos on social media, young people can be seen testing the challenge, and who end up under the trucks. – The trend is completely, completely coconut. So, if you run in front of a truck, you die. There is no nice way to say it, says Mæland to news. Spread from Asia to Norway The challenge is done to get “likes” and attention on social media. The lorry driver says that it seems that the trend started in Asia. Recently, there have been reports of children who have tested the challenge around Norway. Although he has not experienced anyone jumping in front of his own truck, Mæland becomes stressed and extra attentive when he sees children and young people walking on the side of the road. – You never know who might think of doing this, he says. The police: Dozens of cases nationwide Jostein Dammyr works in the police’s online patrol. He says that he is aware of a dozen cases of the challenge nationwide, and confirms that the police have received many tips on the subject. – One of the cases was at Jessheim around a week ago. A tipster had seen several young people gathered by a road. And then some of them had walked out into the road in front of trucks and caused them to stop suddenly, says Dammyr. NO INJURIES: Dammyr says that no injuries have been reported due to the challenge in Norway. Photo: Privat / Privat – Fortunately, it went well with everyone, but it is incredibly frightening. The police have estimated that the age of those attempting the challenge varies from 14-16 years. – The important thing here is to talk to your children! NLF: – Every truck driver’s biggest nightmare Last week, the Norwegian Truck Association sent out a survey to its members. Several drivers could say that they had experienced or seen this type of incident themselves. Knut Gravråk is managing director of NLF. Although no one in Norway has been physically injured by the challenge yet, he says that drivers who have experienced such near misses often react psychologically in the time afterwards. – It is every lorry driver’s worst nightmare to end up in such a situation, and it is particularly bad if there are children involved, says Gravråk. WANT TO WARN CHILDREN: Gravråk says that NLF travels around to primary schools to teach children about road safety. In this way, they manage to warn the children of dangers before it is too late. Photo: NLF He says that NLF, through its support scheme Collegahjelpen, works to give drivers good follow-up after such incidents. They often get a permanent contact person who follows them up, and perhaps accompanies them to work. – It is very difficult to feel safe at work after experiencing something like this. Sent out letter of concern The police confirm that similar incidents have occurred in Ålesund. The preventive section at Ålesund police station has sent out a letter expressing their concern about the challenge. news has been sent the letter. – During the last few days, the police have received concrete information about young people who apparently try to run across the road in front of trucks in 70-zones on the stretch between Blindheim and Magerholm, Ålesund, the police write. ÅLESUND POLICE STATION: In the letter, the police in Ålesund urge parents to talk to their children. Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / news Furthermore, they write that a secondary school in the area has followed up the case to prevent and stop new incidents. – Something is fun, while something is dangerous! It is not worth risking life and health for status and likes. The letter states that the police have reason to believe that the cases in Ålesund stem from a challenge. Not like other challenges Other challenges that have gone viral on TikTok have included choking until you pass out, or eating a spoonful of cinnamon. This challenge stands out as it not only puts the life of the person testing the challenge at risk, but also the lives of the drivers and others nearby. COOPERATION WITH TIKTOK: Dammyr says that the police cooperate with TikTok to take down videos of the challenge. Photo: Alf Ivar Martinsen / news – You can understand that young people think it’s fun to make videos that go viral. But you have to think about what you do to achieve that, says Dammyr in the online patrol. He encourages those who come across such videos on social media to share them with the police’s online patrol. – What do you do when you receive such a video? – First of all, we try to identify who and where this is from. Then we bring it to the local preventive police, so they can have a chat with the parents. But we also have dialogue with TikTok so that the videos are taken down. Published 01.10.2024, at 18.03
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Children jump in front of cars and trailers to participate in the TikTok trend – news Østfold – Local news, TV and radio
