Train Surfing

iVillage: 10 Dangerous Teen Fads You Should Know About

Here’s how it works: Kids ride on top of a moving vehicle while hanging onto the roof or sides. Needless to say, this incredibly dangerous stunt has resulted in a number of deaths and serious injuries, and it’s not just limited to cars. Kids have tried surfing the roofs of trains and subways, too. The Centers for Disease Control identified 99 car surfing deaths between 1990 and 2008.

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Drinking Hand Sa...

Many germophobes are addicted to hand sanitizer every time they shake hands, sneeze or touch a subway pole, but some teens looking for a cheap high are using it in a highly disturbing new way. Kids are actually getting drunk off the over-the-counter cleanser, according to the Los Angeles Times -- most formulas contain 62 percent ethyl alcohol, and using salt to separate the alcohol from the sanitizer yields a potent 120-proof shot. After a few drinks, a person might be so drunk that medical intervention is necessary, as was the case with six teenagers with alcohol poising who checked into the emergency room at two hospitals in San Fernando Valley, CA. Although it's currently a small problem, health officials worry the behavior might indicate a more widespread, dangerous trend, as teens have been known to use other household items like mouthwash or cough syrup to produce a buzz. If parents buy hand sanitizer, experts advise using the foam version (versus the gel type) because it's harder to extract the alcohol.

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Car Surfing

Car Surfing is back in the news again after a 16-year-old Florida girl suffered a massive brain injury while attempting it, according to "TODAY." Teenage Hannah Huntoon was trying to ride on the trunk of a friend's car while holding onto the rear-window windshield wiper and fell off. In other incidents of the dangerous and illegal trend, kids have climbed on top of the roof or trunk of a moving car like they're surfing. Not only is the unrestrained surfer in danger, but the situation can get even more grave if the driver loses control or just follows the turns of the road. The result: A serious, potentially fatal accident.

(CREDIT: The "Today" Show)

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Planking

The trend seems harmless enough at first: "Planking" involves lying face-down on the ground in an unexpected place and then uploading a picture to Facebook or a blog to share with the world. And some of it is innocent, with teens and twenty-somethings posting pictures of themselves face-planted on tree branches and lawns. What isn't: Kids who raise the ante with photos taken in dangerous places -- on a rooftop, an escalator, or, as in the recent case of a 20-year-old who just died while planking, balanced on a terrace railing seven stories high. Australian Acton Beale is reportedly the first person to die from planking.

(CREDIT: www.planking.me)

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Vodka Eyeballing

Parents are usually concerned about their college students doing more shots than studying, but the New York Daily News recently reported on a worrisome new drinking trend of "vodka eyeballing." Partying co-eds tilt back their heads and have a vodka shot poured onto their eye, which gives a quick buzz when the alcohol enters the bloodstream through veins at the back of the eye. This stunt seems to have come from outlandish Las Vegas nightclubs, but has made its way onto university campuses. Not only does the idea sound not-so-smart, but doctors are concerned about possible long-term damage to the sensitive eye area, like scarring and impaired vision.

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Purple Drank

Purple drank is a legal and lethal concoction of Sprite, Jolly Ranchers and codeine cough syrup. Rappers, hip-hop artists and pro athletes have made this fad cool and brought it into the mainstream. Lil’ Wayne has been photographed with his “purple” filled cup, Johnny Jolly of the Green Bay Packers was reportedly drinking it in 2009 while driving, and Jim Marcus Russell of the Oakland Raiders was arrested for possession of codeine syrup without a prescription. There’s even a style of music for “leaners” to listen to -- it’s slowed down to mirror the effects of the drink, which are unresponsiveness, lethargy, hallucination and a slow-mo zombie feeling.

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Twitter-Organize...

Some "flash mobs," public gatherings that are usually organized on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, are pretty peaceful and fun. Many have been immortalized on YouTube and show large groups of people doing anything from dancing in train stations to having pillow fights in public squares. But this trend recently turned violent when teenagers in the Philadelphia area organized a flash mob on Twitter that injured several people and led to three arrests. Teenagers vandalized property and attacked onlookers while police enforced a curfew. Local authorities pointed to a lack of jobs and after-school programs for kids, but most talked about a lack of parent involvement. Talk to your kids about what they’re doing on the internet—and where they’re heading when they walk out the door.

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Smoking Smarties

YouTube videos feature tutorials of kids “smoking” Smarties candy—or crushing them up and inhaling (and exhaling) the dust, anyway. The practice itself isn’t dangerous (except in rare cases when the dust can clog nasal passages), but mimicking the gestures of smoking cigarettes or illegal drugs should be enough to make parents pay attention.

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Train Surfing

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Trunking

Most states have laws that prohibit kids from driving with passengers when they first get their licenses. Some kids have chosen to get around the law—or just cram more passengers into their cars—by trunking, or allowing one or more passengers to ride inside the trunk. After two teens were killed while trunking in 2005, California passed a law banning the practice.

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Google Earth Poo...

Kids are using Google Earth to locate homes with swimming pools in their neighborhoods. Then they send texts or Facebook invites to all their friends and stage impromptu pool parties. This phenomenon is most popular in the UK, where one bewildered pool owner woke up to find beer cans littering his yard.

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