Stop clinging

Breakneck speed, wind in your face, adrenaline rush, chases by train drivers and police, and sooner or later – injury or death. This is how the hobby of "zatsepers" – those who enjoy riding public transport in an unconventional way – can be described in a few words. Not inside the cabin, but on the step or the roof. In some countries, this youth subculture has reached epidemic proportions. Such "riders" can be found here as well. Who are they?

Most often, zatsepers (train surfers, train hoppers) ride between subway cars or on the cars of suburban trains, less often on trolleybuses or trams. They almost always film their exploits on video to post them online later.

It is not easy to find, let alone communicate with, zatsepers. It's not surprising – the "riders" are well aware that their actions violate several articles of the administrative code. And every wrong step threatens a criminal case.

Riding on railway transport falls under Article 18.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses "Violation of the rules of using railway transport," which is punishable by a fine of only 13.8 to 69 rubles. It is noteworthy that throwing trash out of a train window or smoking in the vestibules "costs more."

However, dangerous games do not always go unpunished for zatsepers. For example, a year ago, three schoolchildren at the Luchosa station climbed onto the roof of a train and ran there for the entire stretch. However, the thrill-seekers miscalculated: they failed to escape into the nearest forest from the police detail accompanying the train. The schoolchildren's video camera was confiscated. All previous stunts were filmed there. So, the ride on Luchosa was far from the first in the "record" of these Vitebsk youths.

Vladimir Balakhonov, Deputy Head of Belarusian Railways, says that the department's employees are well aware of the train surfer movement. A whole system has been created to combat them. For example, locomotive crews regularly inspect the moving train. During movement on curved sections of the track, "all outsiders on the transport's exterior become visible as if in plain sight." Upon discovering a "rider," the crew immediately reports them to the station duty officer or the train dispatcher:

— In general, such a phenomenon as "zatseping" (riding on the outside of a train) is not widespread in our country. Nevertheless, since the beginning of the year, we have already registered 7 such cases. Moreover, two of them involved minors.

But this is only what has been detected. How many "stuntmen" remain unnoticed is unknown, but surely many times more.

The history of "zatseping" spans several decades. Jack London, in his novel "The Little Lady of the Big House," told how two young men ran away from home and traveled on freight trains. One of them died. A century has passed since the events described, and the picture seems to be copied from our days. However, there is one significant difference. If at the beginning of the last century, riding as a stowaway was almost the only opportunity for young people to break out of their hometown, then today it has completely turned into idle entertainment, while there are many perfectly legal and safe ways to get another dose of adrenaline. So why?

Opinion

Sergey Igumnov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Belarusian Psychological Society, Professor of the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences of Belarusian State University:

— Firstly, in psychology, there is a popular direction that studies the drive for self-destruction. Sigmund Freud himself identified the death instinct, the drive towards Thanatos. Isn't this an explanation for the risky trips of "zatsepings"? Secondly, it has already been proven that the potential for aggression accumulates from generation to generation. Just look at the shootings of civilians in America, terrorist attacks, and so on. The number and frequency of incidents are increasing. A certain boiling point is reached, and the blunting of the self-preservation instinct in young people, the ever-increasing craving for pointless risk, can be considered a harbinger of it. Finally, although I do not particularly promote this version, the problem of "zatsepings" and other daredevils can be viewed from the perspective of population genetics. In other words, natural selection comes into play here. Therefore, it is difficult to predict what methods can be used to combat violators of public order.

порядка. Банально “надрать уши подростку — не поможет, время упущено. Я взял бы на себя ответственность высказать следующее предложение: нужно создавать межгосударственную программу, направленную на изучение феномена саморазрушительного, рискованного поведения молодежи. Нужна совместная работа ведущих специалистов в области психологии, психиатрии, социологии, необходимо даже философское осмысление проблемы. К сожалению, это характеристика нашего времени, которую нельзя игнорировать.

Assistant of the Vitebsk Transport Prosecutor
Yanchilenko E.V.