TikTok removes joyriding videos amid concerns over Ireland's car theft subculture

TikTok has begun removing videos depicting stolen cars and dangerous driving in Ireland, responding to public pressure after a fatal collision on the M9 motorway resulted in five deaths and serious injuries to four others. The platform's action follows calls for intervention after RTÉ archived 90 videos posted on social media accounts associated with stolen cars and joyriding.

An analysis of 51 of these videos revealed recurring patterns in how the activity is recorded and shared, offering insight into the online subculture surrounding this behavior. Common elements include driving on the wrong side of motorways, damaged ignitions, and apparent Garda (Irish police) pursuits. Some footage shows smashed windows, tools used for theft, or vehicles traveling at speeds exceeding 170 km/h. Registration plates were visible in 12 videos, and five appeared to show individuals hotwiring cars or tampering with ignitions.

Motorways were a frequent setting for the extreme driving captured in the videos. Fourteen videos showed vehicles traveling in the wrong direction on motorways, sometimes along the hard shoulder, narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic. Six videos depicted cars on the hard shoulder, while others showed drivers weaving through traffic at high speeds or cutting across lanes. These clips often feature passengers filming from the back seat, documenting the dangerous maneuvers and apparent attempts to evade law enforcement.

Encounters with Gardaí were another prominent feature, appearing in 12 of the analyzed videos. These clips sometimes showed flashing blue lights or vehicles seemingly fleeing the police. The analysis focused on identifying patterns in the recording and presentation of these activities rather than counting individual offenses, suggesting a deliberate effort to document and share this risky behavior within a specific online community. The removal of this content by TikTok aims to curb the glorification of such dangerous acts.