A dog on a scooter, next to a moving car, doing the #InMyFeelingsChallenge
The viral #InMyFeelingsChallenge is drawing a warning from the National Transportation and Safety Board.
The challenge, which started with comedian Shiggy posting a video of himself dancing to Drake’s new hit song, has quickly spiraled out of control. It has gone from ordinary citizens, and some celebrities, showing off their dance moves, to thousands of people uploading videos of themselves jumping out of moving cars.
Last week, some scary videos of people risking their lives started surfacing.
The #InMyFeelingsChallenge has become such a concern that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is now getting involved. The agency recently tweeted,
“We have some thoughts about the #InMyFeelings challenge. #Distraction in any mode is dangerous & can be deadly.”
The NTSB also included a link to its full statement:
“In transportation, distraction kills. Drivers and operators in all modes of transportation must keep their hands, eyes, and minds focused on operating their vehicle.”
Law enforcement officials across the world are issuing their own warnings as well.
“It’s only a matter of time before someone gets sucked into the wheels of the car or dragged or the driver who is recording it with their phone, hits somebody crossing the street,” Police Chief Joseph Solomon of Methuen, Massachusetts told CBS Boston.
Solomon urges his residents to get off the road and turn their cars off before participating in the challenge.
Elsewhere, officials in Spain are threatening participants with criminal charges. Police in Catalonia tweeted a list of the various modes of distracted driving that could result in penalties. One includes “recording on a mobile while driving.”
Egypt is taking things a bit further by threatening both fines and jail time. The country’s Interior Minister says anyone caught obstructing traffic could face fines of up to $167 and a year behind bars.
Drake is no doubt enjoying the attention. His new single remains at the top of the Billboard 100 for the second week in a row.