Skateboarder grabs onto back of tram at Southport before hitching …
Skateboarder grabs onto back of tram at Southport before hitching free ride along the Gold Coast
Shocking footage has captured the moment an Australian skateboarder tripped over and slammed into the pavement after hitching a ride behind a speeding tram.
The young skater was caught holding onto the wiper at the back of the light rail tram on the Gold Coast[2], Queensland[3].
Passengers on the tram and locals walking past were left in a state of disbelief as they filmed the dangerous stunt.
Wearing a backwards cap, black t-shirt and baggy shorts, the young man is seen grabbing the wiper while the tram was stationary at the station in Southport.
The young skater was filmed by passengers and people outside the carriage, holding onto the window wiper at the back of a G:link light rail tram on the Gold Coast
Video shot from inside the tram shows the youth landing heavily then rolling, before appearing to get up quickly to retrieve his board
He then crouched in preparation as the tram took off and quickly gathered speed.
The city's Bombardier Flexity 2 trams can travel at up to 70km/h, though the average speed is 23km/h, making them them the fastest in the country.
When the skater let go of the tram and began to film himself on his phone camera, his deck wobbled and he suddenly crashed.
Video shot from inside the tram shows the youth landing heavily on the pavement and then rolling, before appearing to get up quickly to retrieve his board.
The lucky skater appears uninjured as he begins to walk in the opposite direction along the tracks.
The footage comes just months after a teenage girl was killed after becoming trapped under a tram in Sydney earlier this year[4].
Sydney's trams have the same top speed as trams on the Gold Coast, but recent statistics showed they usually go far slower in the inner city, at just 11km an hour.
Melbourne trams have a top speed of up to 80km/h but in reality are as slow as Sydney's.
The at-times slow speeds of trams are at odds with how dangerous they can be.
Kyra Dulguime, 16, was killed shortly after falling into a gap between two light rail carriages[5] when it stopped at Chinatown, Sydney, then took off before she could recover, in May.
Kyra Dulguime, 16, was killed shortly after falling into a gap between two light rail carriages at the George Street platform in the city's CBD at midnight in May 2023
Witnesses told Daily Mail Australia the girl had tried to cross the tracks between two carriages while the tram was stopped at a red light at Haymarket.
When the tram suddenly started moving, she became trapped under one of the carriages and was dragged up the road before the driver came to a stop.
The tragedy has thrown a spotlight on safety issues surrounding the light rail - with video emerging showing a thrillseeker joyriding on the connection between the light rail late last year.
It comes amongst a backdrop of historic warnings from unions that the light rail could be deadly - given it runs down George St, one of Australia's most congested pedestrian thoroughfares.
References
- ^ Peter Vincent For Daily Mail Australia (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Gold Coast (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Queensland (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ tram in Sydney earlier this year (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ after falling into a gap between two light rail carriages (www.dailymail.co.uk)