It's called "hopping cars" in Philadelphia, "bumper-hitching" or "shagging" in Detroit, "skitching" along the Eastern Seaboard. In northern Indiana it's "hooky-bobbing."
As long as snow is on the ground and a car is passing by, kids grab bumpers and go along for the ride. It's a dangerous thrill, and some children are learning that the hard way."They just don't realize. They have no fear," said Kathleen Armbruster, a school-bus driver in Hamburg, N.Y.
The techniques vary as much as the names. Some squat down and grab the underside of a car bumper and get dragged through the mush. Others, flat on their bellies, use their entire body as a ski.
The danger arises when the car stops suddenly or speeds up, slamming riders into or under vehicles or jolting them over bumps. Many children, however, are not easily scared.
"They've done it since there were horse and buggies. They'll be doing it for the rest of your life and longer," said 59-year-old Mike Acobacey, who lives on a Philadelphia street where hopping cars is a pastime.
Joseph Walker, 10, of the Philadelphia suburb of Bristol died Friday when the car he was hopping backed over him. The driver, in reverse to avoid a closed road, did not see the boy, Bristol Township Police Lt. Joe Fehn said.
Nine-year-old Tomas Perez of Detroit died Tuesday after being run over while shagging. Authorities said he became entangled in the car's drive shaft.
Paul Britton, 10, used to hop cars with friends after school and on weekends. No more - not since he saw what can happen.
"This kid, the car hit a pothole and he went up in the air," Paul said Sunday. "He broke half of his body and he's in a body cast."
But James Lewis, 13, also of Philadelphia, goes hopping all the time despite the dangers. "We normally ask the people before we do it," he said.
Many kids don't ask. Some groups hide and jump out as the vehicle passes. Others congregate in the road, forcing cars to slow down. When they get within reach, the entire group jumps on.