Skaters risk lives, limbs with silly stunts on Suswa road

Videos circulating online have revealed that a community of skaters has invaded Suswa Road, and from there, they've been engaging in daredevil antics, endangering themselves and other motorists while also flouting traffic stipulations and causing major havoc in broad daylight.

These skaters, a coterie of audacious thrill-seekers with no regard for traffic rules and no care for their own safety, have been filmed skating down sharp bends in breakneck speeds, totally drunk in the maddening adrenaline as they dangerously weave their way past moving cars, down the road and even into the nearby bushes.

One incident shows a white car approaching a bend along the Suswa road, oblivious of the imminent danger ahead. As he nears the bend, onlookers can be heard urging him to slow down before a skater in a red jumper hurtles right towards the vehicle, hitting it on the driver's side and flying across the tarmac in a dramatically hazardous fashion.

Despite the obvious dangers involved and the unnecessary clash with motorists, these skaters appear to fully enjoy the thrill, as they can be seen laughing away the collisions, perhaps stimulated by the dangerous madness of it all.

The Suswa road, on close inspection, is a particularly perilous choice for these stunts as it bears numerous black spots, has no guard rails, is dotted with sharp bends and has zero markings.

Despite all these glaring red flags, these skaters have still found it a perfect spot to exercise their spine-tingling feats, while frighteningly kicking everyone else off the road in their dumb glides into anarchy.

These antics have attracted massive backlash from Kenyans online, with many castigating the skaters for painting the sport in a bad light, especially at a time when efforts are being made to properly recognise the sport, support the athletes and grant it some national attention.

Others have reprimanded the skaters for being so careless about their own well-being and clearly not mindful of their health by skating without helmets and exposing their legs to such gravity-defying extremes.

Skaters have invaded the Suswa route pulling stupid stunts on a road with hundreds of black spots,zero markings and no guardrails 😂😂😂 Huku najua wengi watavunjika miguu pic.twitter.com/xMoINyRAsB

"If only people knew how expensive it is to treat head injuries, they would not do such stunts without helmets," Caroline Wangoko wrote on X.

Someone else wrote, "Skaters culture wajue once skull imepasuka haina repair safety starts with you. This is clearly suicidal. These kids are playing with death. And then when they break their bones, they will ask us to donate towards their hospital expenses. Madness!"

For those into the sport, skating isn’t just a sport. It is a high-stakes negotiation between gravity and human willpower and a pursuit defined by a beautiful, often painful, duality.

But the intoxicating thrill of flight is often met by the sobering reality of the pavement, as skaters glide themselves into permanent injury, and, in rare cases, death.

Unfortunately, skating exists in a world of free-range autonomy where there are no coaches blowing whistles, no designated out-of-bounds lines, and no fixed right way to play, leaving the skaters to turn any tarmac into a playground of possibilities.

Still, simple things like helmets, speed control, mindfulness of other motorists and care for one's own wellbeing shouldn't escape the minds of Kenyan skaters - and leave them acting so foolishly, and in such a brazen disregard for any orderliness.