About

Don't Make Unnecessary Journeys or Reporter Hit By Stop Sign is a viral video of Irish journalist and broadcaster Teresa Mannion reporting in the middle of Storm Desmond, saying, "Don't make unnecessary journeys, don't take risks on treacherous roads, and don't swim in the sea!" before being abruptly struck by a stop sign.

The video was originally posted by RTE in December 2015. That year, an edited version of the video in which Mannion is hit by the stop sign went viral. The video was purportedly thought to be real by some.

In August 2026, the audio from the video was popularized on TikTok as part of a trend that mourns the loss of celebrities, and the eventual loss of celebrities, warning them not to make unnecessary journeys that might lead to their death. The audio was largely used in late August 2026 after the deaths of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry.

Origin

On December 5th, 2015, RTE^[1] published a report on Storm Desmond in the west of Ireland. In the video, reporter Teresa Mannion stands in the middle of the storm and says, "Don't make unnecessary journeys, don't take risks on treacherous roads, and don't swim in the sea!"

On December 6th, YouTuber^[2] Gerard Walsh posted an edit of the report where Mannion is hit with a stop sign blowing in the wind, garnering over 848,000 views in 11 years.

The video went viral several times over the following years, inspiring Full Fact^[3] to publish a debunking article in 2022, in which it is claimed by Mannion, the reporter in the video, that some people thought the stop sign video was real.

Spread

On December 11th, 2015, The Late Late Show YouTube^[4] channel posted an interview segment with Mannion about the viral video, garnering over 580,000 views in 11 years.

On September 27th, 2024, TikToker^[5] x.slay.x posted a slideshow set to the audio of the video that puts three celebrities, Julie Andrews, Stevie Nicks and David Attenborough under the captions, urging them not to take unnecessary journeys and avoid death, garnering over 121,000 views in two years.

On August 26th, following the deaths of country music legend Dolly Parton and actor Tim Curry, TikToker^[6] @bylethswife posted a similar video about the celebrities they fear will die soon, garnering over 6 million views in a day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References