Meanwhile on TikTok: Dangerous New Trend Involves Putting Toddlers on Train Tracks (We’ve Officially Reached Peak Stupid)

Social media challenges are dumb. Some are dangerous. Remember the whole milk crate craze? Well, if you thought that was bad, just wait until you hear about the latest TikTok trend. It involves putting toddlers on train tracks. Yes, you read that right.

Railway officials in the UK are warning people to steer clear of this perilous stunt, which involves posing little tykes on train tracks and tagging the posts #railwayshoot. The hashtag has over a million views on multiple social media platforms.

@rishav.4218railway creative pose for boysd ..#turndownforwhat #railwayshoot #photoshoot #photography #creativepose@anu_barnwal_nishu @rohitsingh20999♬ sonido original – alex_destreza

“It’s a very worrying trend,” Ronnie Gallagher, Route Level Crossing Manager at Network Rail, said during a BBC Crimewatch segment. “No photograph is worth the risk to you or the consequences to your family.”

“People seem to think that the worst won’t happen to them ― but if you’re caught short at a level crossing, it simply isn’t true. Unlike cars, trains can take hundreds of meters to stop when traveling at top speed, meaning that a decision to nip across the tracks can be fatal,” Jody Donnelly, train driver at Transport for Wales, warned viewers on Cambridgeshire Live.

Not only is the trend concerning, it’s often illegal because it involves trespassing.

While it might seem like a cool stunt, it really isn’t worth your life – much less risking your children’s well-being. Do we really have to tell people not to do shit this stupid? Apparently. Network Rail, the British Transport Police, and Transport for Wales have all joined forces to launch a PSA campaign titled “At What Cost?” urging people to stay off the train tracks – and it, too, is streaming on social media. Unfortunately, we doubt it will get nearly as many views as idiots and their adrenaline-junkie antics.

Cover Photo: British Transport Police / Network Rail

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