MVD powerless to stop vehicle stunts on social media

Vehicle stunts to get a few likes on social media platforms are gaining traction among youngsters and the MVD is ill-equipped to crack the whip on these violators

Vehicle stunts to get a few likes on social media platforms are gaining traction among young people and the Motor Vehicles department (MVD) is rather ill-equipped to crack the whip on these violators, who are setting a bad example.

It was not long ago that two youths died after their bikes collided while performing a stunt on the NH-66 bypass section near Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram.

Around a week before the incident, an enforcement squad of the MVD had zeroed in on the youths after their dangerous bike stunts attracted wide viewership on Instagram. It took around a week for officials to get their identity as all identification marks, including the high-security number plates, had been removed from the videos before posting them to dodge the agencies.

When the officials arrived at the residences of the bikers, they were greeted by the news of death of the bikers in a road accident, says Liju B.S., an additional motor vehicle inspector, Thiruvananthapuram.

In another incident, a private school student at Venjaramoodu in Thiruvananthapuram exhibited a model of a contract carriage, which earned notoriety after it caught fire when the bus crew burst crackers on its rooftop, the video of which was viral on social media, at the school science expo. The incident smacks of the growing influence such unruly social media reels showing daredevilry on the part of vehicle crew, mostly tourist buses, wields on young users of social media.

In another case, officials seized the vehicle of a youth after his dangerous Insta reels went viral. But the youth spent the whole night outside the MVD office refusing to go home as he was addicted to his bike. It is extremely dangerous when youngsters get addicted to such daring performances for mileage on social media, says Mr. Liju.

Curiously, a large number of ‘reel performers’ on social media are from middle-class or lower middle-class backgrounds, says another officer.