Northland police slam wild ride as 'act of stupidity'

A senior Northland policeman has deemed a high speed downhill ride by an unidentified rider on dangerous stretch of State Highway 1 in Northland "an act of stupidity", though it may not be illegal.

In the video posted last month by Matt Boortman on YouTube called Bombing Brynderwyn Ranges - Skate - Die!, the skateboarder stays in his own lane heading downhill on the southern side of the Brynderwyn Hills. He drifts close to the double yellow lines and is at times close enough to reach out and touch oncoming traffic. The oncoming traffic includes cars, four-wheel drives, campervans and truck and trailer units.

In the written introduction to the one minute 43 second clip the rider said: "Summer doesn't last very long here in NZ so in-between rain storms and holiday traffic we thought we'd go check out the Brynderwyns and see if we could sneak some runs in on the smooth and windy main state highway.

"Even got to chase down a motorcycle. Love you New Zealand."

The skateboarder is followed closely by a vehicle with someone videoing the hair-raising ride. The skateboarder is wearing a helmet and gloves for protection but is dressed in a shirt and shorts.

At times he crouches down on the board to take the lefthand bends, and puts his hand on the road to steady himself. The ride comes to an end at the base of the hill in the driveway to Atlas Quarries.

After watching the video, Northland road policing boss Inspector Wayne Ewers said there was no specific offence for the actions of the skateboarder, but a person engaging in such activities could possibly be charged with endangering transport.

Police records showed there were no *555 reports made around the time the video was posted online.

"It is difficult to estimate his speed as well but sufficient to say if he had fallen off into the face of an oncoming vehicle it would have clearly added to the statistics. I can say it's an act of stupidity." Mr Ewers said.

"The Brynderwyns require good concentration levels when driving over them and they have seen a number of serious and fatal accidents in recent years. Behaviour of this type not only endangers the skateboard rider but puts other road users at risk of being seriously injured or killed."

The Northern Advocate tried to speak with Matt Boortman but he had not replied by edition time.

Northland's road toll stands at five so far.