Every reckless clip posted for likes risks lives, betrays car culture and hands regulators another argument for surveillance, automated intervention and a future in which responsible drivers are no longer trusted with their own cars

Let me start with something that should be so staggeringly obvious that having to write it feels rather like explaining to an adult that fire is hot, cliffs are high and attempting to headbutt a moving train is unlikely to improve your afternoon: if you drive dangerously on a public road, film yourself doing it and then upload the footage for likes, follows, shares, notoriety, validation or whatever tiny digital pat on the head you are desperately seeking, you are not proving that you are a petrolhead, a skilled driver, a rebel, a hero or the missing member of some bargain-basement Fast & Furious tribute act; you are proving that you are prepared to endanger your own life, the lives of complete strangers and, because the consequences never stop with the person holding the steering wheel, the future freedom of every responsible enthusiast who enjoys cars without treating the rest of the population as unwilling extras in a stunt video.