Trunking and Driving Awareness

[Gormy Cuss]

Later in the article there is a suggestion that sometimes it's done to circumvent the provisional driver restricting on ferrying fellow teenagers; in other instances it seems to a way of piling more kids into an already loaded car.

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CA bill's goal is to raise teens' awareness of 'trunking' danger
- Lynda Gledhill, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Friday, August 4, 2006

(08-04) 04:00 PDT Sacramento -- Whether it's to get around teenage driver's license restrictions, a simple joyride or the only way home in a crowded car, teens in the state have been climbing into car trunks, sometimes with deadly results.

A fatal accident in Glendora (Los Angeles County) last year has prompted one lawmaker to try to stiffen the penalties for drivers who allow passengers to climb into the trunk of a vehicle, with the goal of educating youth about the dangers of riding in the trunk....

Two youths were killed in Mountjoy's district after climbing into the trunk of a car. When the car crashed, they were ejected and hit by an oncoming van.
"It was deadly fun," said David Snyder, the father of 15-year-old Chris Snyder, one of the boys killed in the accident.

It's unclear how much of a problem "trunking" is with teenagers. The California Highway Patrol reports that since 2000, there have been 153 collisions, including nine fatalities, where someone was riding in an unauthorized part of the car.

In May, eight youths, including two in the trunk, were in a car that plummeted 250 feet down a cliff off Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles. Authorities at the scene said it was amazing no one was killed or very seriously hurt.