You may have heard of train surfers or surfing “the act of riding on the outside of a moving train, or to some extreme people climbing on top of the train and dancing while the train moves at top speed”. A video of commuters climbing out of a window and onto the roof of a bus has gone viral.
The video clip shows men dancing on the roof of a bus that was driving up an on-ramp onto the N3 Freeway in Durban. While the men are dancing on top of the moving bus, other people are seen climbing out to join them. There are two vehicles seen driving alongside the bus cheering the men on.
Durban metro police were informed about the incident and said they would investigate the matter. “It’s totally against the law. Both drivers are putting their lives, and other road users, in danger. Both drivers should be charged for this behaviour,” said Superintendent Boysie Zungu, the metro police spokesperson.
He said metro police would try to have to step up patrols on the freeways after seeing the shocking video. “We will ensure that they are more vigilant and have zero tolerance for this kind of behaviour,” he said.
Train surfing in South Africa has been a phenomenon with a group which was known as “Rough Riders” who were known to be train surfers who danced on the roof of moving trains and ducking cables to please the crowd.
Zama Nomnganga, a spokesperson for the Passenger Rail Agency of SA, said they have run awareness campaigns teaching teenagers about the dangers of train surfing after a teenager was electrocuted in a train surfing incident in November 2020.