Police in western Quebec say they believe the so-called “lug nut challenge” is behind a recent scare in Cantley.
MRC des Collines de l’Outaouais police said a driver was travelling on Montée de la Source on Oct. 29, when she noticed unusual vibrations coming from the wheels. She pulled over and noticed that lug nuts on three of her four wheels were loose.
Police said it was fortunate that no collision occurred and that no one was hurt.
It’s suspected that the nuts may have been loosened the night before.
The “lug nut challenge” is an alleged social media trend, primarily associated with the TikTok platform, that involves people filming themselves secretly loosening or removing the lug nuts on parked vehicles.
It’s unclear how widespread the supposed challenge is.
Searching for “lug nut challenge” or its associated hashtag on TikTok prompts a warning that says, “Some online challenges can be dangerous, disturbing, or even fabricated,” and has a link to a page that discusses how to interact with online challenges.
Police in Quebec have issued warnings about the “lug nut challenge” before. In Quebec’s Eastern Townships, police said they responded to five incidents in a short time over the summer.
Tampering with someone’s vehicle could result in serious criminal charges that come with lengthy prison sentences upon conviction.
MRC des Collines de l’Outaouais police, meanwhile, say anyone with information about the late October incident in the chemin Neufbourg area to contact Det. Marc Dufour at 819-459-2422, ext. 3290.
“Although it seems that this is an isolated incident, we still encourage citizens to report any similar situation,” police said in a Facebook post, translated from French.
“In addition, as we are currently in the season of tire changes, we encourage you to carefully check the tightening and safety of your nuts, especially if you are changing your tires yourself.”
