ALERT: The Left-Right Car Challenge: When a Social Media Trend Meets the Physics of a Moving Vehicle
Recently, we here at The White Hatter became aware of videos circulating on TikTok involving older teens and young adults rapidly steering a moving vehicle from left to right and back again, apparently as part of what has been referred to online as the “Left Right Car Trend” or “Left Right Car Challenge.” Like many social media challenges, what may look entertaining on a phone screen can become something very different when it is attempted in the real world, particularly when the challenge involves several thousand pounds of metal travelling down a public roadway.
One of the videos brought to our attention is particularly concerning. Before even considering the rapid left-right steering itself, there are several things parents, caregivers, and young drivers should notice. The driving takes place at night, a seat belt does not appear to be worn, and there is oncoming traffic. In other words, several risk factors are already present before the driver deliberately begins making abrupt steering movements. I've cropped the video to protect identity of the teen in the video. If you want to see dozens of full length video head over to TikTok and search "left and right car"
This is an important conversation for parents and caregivers of new drivers because an L or N licence may give a teen legal permission to drive under certain conditions, but it does not magically provide them with years of driving experience. New drivers are still learning how a vehicle responds to speed, braking, road conditions, tire traction, weight transfer and emergency steering. A social media video can make deliberately swerving a vehicle look simple, however, the physics involved are anything but simple.
Why Rapidly Steering Left and Right Can Become Dangerous Very Quickly
When a driver turns a steering wheel, they are doing much more than simply pointing the vehicle in another direction, they are asking the tires to generate lateral force while the mass of the vehicle begins moving in response to that change in direction. The suspension compresses and rebounds, weight transfers across the vehicle, and the amount of load being carried by individual tires changes.
Now imagine immediately steering in the opposite direction before the vehicle has completely settled from the first manoeuvre, the vehicle’s weight begins transferring the other way. Do it again, and the driver may now be asking the vehicle to respond to a third steering input while its suspension, tires and mass are still responding to the first two.
This is one of the reasons repeated left-right steering can become increasingly difficult to control. Each individual movement of the steering wheel might not look particularly dramatic, but the effects can compound. What the vehicle does on the third or fourth steering input may be very different from what it did on the first. This is something that Darren experiences first hand in his police driver training.
Think of pushing someone on a swing, a single small push produces a relatively small movement. If additional pushes are timed with the movement of the swing, however, the arc can become progressively larger. A vehicle experiencing repeated lateral weight transfer can behave in a somewhat similar way. The driver may unintentionally create an escalating side to side motion, and what started as deliberate swerving can transition into a genuine loss of control event.
This is sometimes associated with what people describe as a pendulum effect or fishtailing. If the rear tires begin losing lateral grip, the back of the vehicle can start moving outward. An inexperienced driver may instinctively respond by quickly steering in the opposite direction. If that correction is too aggressive, the vehicle can swing the other way with even greater force. The driver’s next correction can make it worse again. Suddenly, the driver is no longer making the vehicle move from side to side for a video, the vehicle is moving from side to side faster than the driver can control it.
This is another piece of driving physics that we think every new driver should understand, tires do not have unlimited traction. The amount of grip available depends upon many factors, including speed, tire condition, tire pressure, road surface, temperature, rain, snow, ice, gravel, braking, acceleration and how abruptly the driver changes direction. When a driver turns, the tires must generate lateral force to change the direction of the vehicle, ask too much of the tires and they can begin to slide.
If the front tires exceed their available grip, the vehicle can experience understeer, where the vehicle does not turn as much as the driver expects and continues travelling toward the outside of the intended path. If the rear tires lose lateral grip, the vehicle can experience oversteer, where the rear of the vehicle begins rotating outward. Either situation can become particularly dangerous when an inexperienced driver responds with another abrupt steering input. This is why overcorrection can sometimes become more dangerous than the event that caused the initial correction. A relatively small deviation from the intended path can turn into a major loss-of-control event because the driver reacts with increasingly aggressive steering movements.
There is another issue parents should understand, particularly if their teen drives an SUV, crossover, pickup truck or another vehicle with a higher centre of gravity thus the loss of control from a rapid side to side movement of the steering wheel increase the risk. Rapid alternating steering causes lateral weight transfer and under extreme circumstances, particularly at higher speeds, abrupt steering can cause significant lateral movement and body roll.
A particularly dangerous situation can develop if a vehicle begins sliding sideways and the tires suddenly encounter a surface providing substantially more traction. That rapid restoration of lateral grip can place significant forces on the vehicle and, depending upon the circumstances and vehicle, contribute to rollover risk.
This is why context matters when looking at videos like the one that prompted this alert article. Driving at night reduces visibility and the amount of time a driver may have to identify and respond to a hazard. Oncoming traffic means that a loss of control does not simply threaten the person making the video, it can place completely uninvolved drivers, passengers, and pedestrians in danger.
Not wearing a seat belt adds another significant layer of risk. A seat belt is not only important once a collision occurs, it also helps keep the driver and passengers positioned correctly behind the steering wheel during sudden vehicle movements. A driver being hit by the passenger being thrown sideways in their seat may have considerably more difficulty maintaining precise control of the steering wheel and pedals thus increasing the risk of an accident.
There is also something else parents and caregivers should discuss with their teens, the presence of a camera can change behaviour. When the objective shifts from simply driving safely to producing something entertaining enough to record, share or post, the social reward can begin competing with good judgement. The driver may exaggerate the movement because the first attempt does not look dramatic enough on camera. Passengers may encourage the driver to do it again. Someone may want a better take. What began as a small movement can escalate because the purpose of the behaviour is no longer transportation, the purpose has become producing content.
In British Columbia, and Other Provinces, This Could Also Have Serious Legal Consequences
Parents and caregivers should also make sure young drivers understand that deliberately making a vehicle swerve for a social media video is not insulated from traffic or criminal law simply because someone calls it a “challenge.”
Under section 144 of British Columbia’s Motor Vehicle Act, a person must not drive without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other people using the highway. The current violation ticket amount for driving without due care is $368, while driving without reasonable consideration carries a $196 ticket. Both offences carry six driver penalty points under the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations.
B.C.’s Motor Vehicle Act also specifically defines a “stunt.” Importantly, “stunting” is not simply the name of one standalone ticket. The definition includes circumstances where, taking into account the road, traffic, visibility and weather, a driver operates a vehicle without reasonable consideration for others or in a manner likely to cause harm, distract, startle or interfere with other road users while engaging in specified behaviours. Those behaviours include causing a vehicle to lose traction while turning, causing it to spin, unnecessarily driving in an oncoming lane, and certain other dangerous manoeuvres.
Whether a particular left-right manoeuvre legally meets the definition of a stunt would depend upon exactly what occurred. However, where police have reasonable grounds to believe a vehicle was being operated in a race or stunt and intend to proceed with specified Motor Vehicle Act or motor-vehicle-related Criminal Code charges, section 251 of the Motor Vehicle Act provides authority for the vehicle to be impounded.
Depending upon the seriousness and circumstances of the driving, police could also investigate the much more serious Criminal Code offence of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. Section 320.13 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to operate a conveyance in a manner that, having regard to all the circumstances, is dangerous to the public. A collision or injury is therefore not necessarily required before driving can potentially cross the threshold into criminal conduct. Whether that threshold is met in any particular case would depend upon the evidence and circumstances.
A basic dangerous operation offence can be prosecuted by indictment or summary conviction, and if prosecuted by indictment carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. The Criminal Code separately provides more serious offences where dangerous operation causes bodily harm or death.
In other words, a few seconds of deliberately dangerous driving performed for a social media video can potentially have consequences extending far beyond the number of views, likes, or shares that video receives.
For an L or N Driver, The Consequences Can Be Particularly Significant
This is the part we especially want parents of new drivers to understand. British Columbia does not treat new drivers exactly the same as experienced drivers when it comes to their driving records. RoadSafetyBC specifically states that interventions under the Driver Improvement Program begin at lower penalty-point levels for new drivers, and it considers factors such as the number, timing and severity of violations when deciding whether intervention is appropriate. Those interventions can ultimately include a driving prohibition. That becomes particularly relevant when you remember that driving without due care and attention and driving without reasonable consideration each carry six penalty points.
For an N driver, therefore, this should not be thought of as, “Worst case, I’ll just get a ticket.” A single serious driving incident can potentially trigger consequences affecting their ability to continue driving. RoadSafetyBC can also intervene following high-risk driving incidents reported by police, with factors including traffic conditions, location, speed, passengers, property damage, injuries and the likelihood of harm all potentially relevant.
That can have a significant ripple effect for a teenager who depends upon their licence to get to school, university, work, sports or other activities. It can also affect the family member whose vehicle the teen was driving if that vehicle is impounded.
We do not think the answer is to show teens a frightening video and simply say, “Don’t ever do this.” , even though we understand why a parent or caregiver would want to do this. Instead, use the video as an opportunity to teach.
Ask your teen what they think is happening to the vehicle when the steering wheel is being moved rapidly from side to side. Ask them
What could happen if one tire hits gravel on the shoulder?
What happens if the road is wet?
What if another vehicle suddenly appears around a corner?
What if the driver overcorrects?
What if there is a cyclist or pedestrian that the camera cannot see?
What happens to the passengers if they are not wearing seat belts?
Then ask another important question, “What changes when the purpose of driving becomes creating content rather than safely operating the vehicle?” That conversation takes this beyond one TikTok trend. There will always be another challenge, another platform, and another video encouraging someone to do something risky because it looks entertaining on a screen.
A steering wheel is not a gaming controller, there is no reset button when a vehicle loses control. A five second social media clip may disappear into someone’s feed almost immediately. The consequences of those five seconds on the road may last considerably longer, especially if someone is seriously injured or killed because of this challenge.
Digital Food For Thought
The White Hatter
Facts Not Fear, Facts Not Emotions, Enlighten Not Frighten, Know Tech Not No Tech
