‘Ghost-riding the whip’ popular on Web, perilous in reality

It might be the youth trend that most clearly epitomizes an age of exhibitionism. All the elements are there: Cars, music, dancing and the potential to make parents very angry – plus, it’s a spectacle tailor-made for taping and posting on the Web.

“Ghost-riding the whip,” as it’s known, has swept from its origins in San Francisco’s East Bay to much of the rest of the country, propelled by a pair of hip-hop songs that celebrate this exceptionally dangerous regional tradition.

To ghost-ride, the driver climbs out of the car while it’s moving at low speed. The ghost-rider then busts a move around and on top of the vehicle, usually accompanied by a thumping soundtrack from the car (or “whip,” in urban slang). What they’re attempting is to make the dance steps as gaudy and elaborate as possible and to stay outside the car as long as possible. It’s all about self-expression. Or possibly cheap thrills. Or maybe the ever-popular youthful flirtation with bone-breaking, brain-damaging injury. A young man in Stockton, Calif., for example, died this month when he hit his head on a parked car while attempting what police said was a ghost-riding maneuver, according to news reports.

Ghost-riding videos are all over the Web, displaying a vast array of dance styles and vehicles. On YouTube, the popular video-sharing site, clips abound of young people climbing out of cars, trucks and minivans, dancing frantically on hoods, trunks and even roofs.

But ghost-riding is illegal and potentially lethal. “It’s about the stupidest and most dangerous thing you can do with a car, other than driving drunk,” says John Townsend, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “It’s just suicidal.” Since an unattended moving vehicle can become an unguided missile, Townsend says, ghost-riding jeopardizes not just the car’s driver but also the lives of other drivers and pedestrians.

Things can get out of control. Just ask the guy in one YouTube video who ghost-rode his red pickup truck down a suburban street – and right into a telephone pole. Or ask rapper Mistah F.A.B. (aka Stanley Cox), who, while shooting the soon-to-be-released video for “Ghost Ride It,” tumbled off his car and rolled on the pavement. He suffered only minor injuries.

“It’s fun, it’s an adrenaline rush,” he says, “but I won’t lie to you or sugarcoat it. It’s dangerous. I’ve seen a lot of bad stuff happen. Definitely, do not try this at home.”