Newswise — An increase in the temperatures statistically means an increase in motor vehicle injuries including a growing national trend for car surfing. Most popular with teenage males, the sport involves clinging to the exterior of a speeding car.
“Young people believe they are invincible but several seconds of thoughtless, risky behavior can lead to a lifetime of permanent disability or even death,” said Thomas Esposito, MD, chief of the Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care and Burns in the Department of Surgery at Loyola University Medical Center.
National statistics have shown a steady rise in car surfing fatalities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), since 1990, at least 99 people died or sustained serious injuries as a result of car surfing. “Broken bones and road rash – severe skin abrasions caused by impact from a fall – are minor injuries from car-surfing,” said Esposito. “Head injuries are very prevalent and the effects are devastating.”
Car crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers in the United States. Loyola is the only Level 1 trauma center which has been verified by the American College of Surgeons in Illinois and regularly cares for patients who have been involved in car crashes and sustain complicated injuries.
The national rise in car surfing fatalities corresponds with the introduction of media depictions of the activity in movies, video games and in social media “For those desiring their five minutes of fame, social media such as YouTube and Facebook offer perceived fame and instant gratification,” said Esposito. “Replicating a dangerous stunt and capturing it with a cellphone may seem like a cool idea but can have serious long-term consequences.”
In addition to treating car surfing patients at Loyola’s Trauma Center, Dr. Esposito says he has witnessed car surfing firsthand in front of his own house in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. “I had to approach a group of teenagers who were car surfing down my street and told them that I was on-call for Loyola and I preferred to know them as my young healthy neighbors and not as my seriously injured and disabled patients,” he said.
Dr. Esposito says statistics from the CDC report that:
Males are more likely to car surf than females
The average age of persons injured as a result of car surfing is 17.6 years, and a larger than average proportion of injuries occur among teen males ages 15 to 19
Injuries have been reported in 31 states, with a regional pattern detected with 39 percent from the Midwest and 35 percent from the South
Esposito notes that one of the key risks is sudden, unanticipated car maneuvers such as accelerating, swerving or braking, that can force a car surfer off of the vehicle. “People who fall off a moving vehicle may suffer brain contusions, broken bones, fractured skulls, loss of consciousness, internal bleeding, paralysis and death,” he said. “Car surfing is a dangerous game with stakes that are too high if you lose.”
As a Level 1 trauma center, Loyola is equipped to provide comprehensive emergency medical services using multidisciplinary treatment and specialized resources to patients suffering traumatic injuries -- car and motorcycle crashes, stabbings, athletic injuries and falls.
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