Police slam 'brainless' luge stunt on Kaimai Range

The Tauranga man who rode a luge down the Kaimai Range in a stunt police have labelled "brainless" says he might do it again on the Bombay hills, south of Auckland.

Travis Scott,19, said he and his friends got bored on Tuesday afternoon and wanted a challenge with a cart they had bought off Trade Me a few weeks ago.

"So the boys said they'd buy a box if I did the Kaimais," Mr Scott told Bay of Plenty Times.

Travis Scott was bored so decided to ride a luge down the Kaimai Range, despite oncoming traffic.

A video shows Scott shirtless and travelling at speed down the west side of the State Highway 29 range, being filmed by someone travelling in a car behind. At times the cart ventures across double lines and heavy freight trucks can be seen travelling in the opposite direction.

"I got a few toots and funny looks. I know I swerved out into the other lane but I could clearly see there was no one coming."

One of Scott's friends panned a camera to film a line of traffic stuck travelling behind them before panning back to record the luge rider.

The antics sparked debate online, where the stunt "dangerous" and "stupid".

"There have been so many people reacting, I didnt' expect it to go off like that," Scott said.

It's obvious the behaviour of the individual is high-risk and likely to result in serious injury, if not worse, and to be honest the actions of the individual are brainless.

Senior Sergeant Ian Campion

"I reckon some people need to stop taking it so seriously. It's pretty funny, pretty loose."

Scott said he enjoyed driving and was a bit of a thrill-seeker. He bought the cart off Trade Me and had also used it on other roads around the region with his mates.

Scott said if he reached 100 'likes' online he would attempt the same stunt on the Bombay Hills.

"I've already got 500, so I probably will," he said.

Head of Western Bay of Plenty road policing Senior Sergeant Ian Campion said he was shocked by the footage.

"It's obvious the behaviour of the individual is high-risk and likely to result in serious injury, if not worse, and to be honest the actions of the individual are brainless," he said.

Mr Campion said one of the dangers of riding on a luge on a public road was that they were so low to the ground they were very difficult to see.

"You are not in the general line of site of other road users, particularly if someone is over-taking, and the most shocking part of it all is the fact that he was happy to spend quite a deal of time on the other side of the road. It just compounds the stupidity of his actions. It just demonstrates his lack of perception around risk," Mr Campion said.

Police were looking into the matter and would not rule out charges.