'Absolute stupidity': Shocking video shows passengers riding on bonnet. Video / Ngawai Kena-Smith
A couple have spoken out after seeing two young people "hanging on by their fingernails" to the bonnet of a car travelling at speed along a winding road, saying the actions were "absolute stupidity".
Justin Smith and his wife Ngawai Kena-Smith recorded harrowing video of the incident, which took place on the road between Matauri Bay and Mahinepua in Northland.
Video shows the car travelling down the road with two people sitting on the passenger side of the bonnet. They appear to be young people and are not secured to the car in any way.
Smith estimated that the car was travelling at up to 60km/h along the road, which serves as the main road for the coastal communities near Matauri Bay and is particularly busy with holidaymakers in the summer.
He posted video of the car to Facebook, labelling the behaviour as "absolute stupidity".
Facebook users responding to the video said that the driver's actions were "putting their family's life at risk" and queried what would happen if the car needed to brake suddenly.
Others recalled taking part in the activity, with one woman saying it was part of "growing up Kiwi".
Kena-Smith had no time for those sentiments, calling them "ridiculous and pathetic," and telling the Herald: "We've seen too many people die from dumb s*** like that".
"Do they love their kids that much, do they want them to end up in a box as well?"
The car travels along the winding road with the two young people perched precariously on the bonnet. Photo / Ngawai Kena-Smith
Kena-Smith said she thought was "seeing things" when she first saw the car, but that the incident left her "fuming".
The pair, who have both had long careers working in Māori education in Northland, say that they spoke up after seeing the devastating effects of road deaths in the region.
Justin Smith told the Herald that the group's actions were a "hui mate [burial] waiting to happen".
He said he had personal experience of the horrific toll that road accidents could take on families, recalling children he previously taught who died because of "poor choices".
Northland Police road policing manager Senior Sergeant Steve Dickson said the behaviour seen in the video was "reckless, dangerous and puts the lives of those involved and other road users at risk".
"It is never safe to allow passengers to ride anywhere in or on a vehicle other than in a seat with an approved restraint."
Dickson said police would be making inquiries with the vehicle's registered owner and encouraged anyone who witnessed this type of behaviour to call 111 and anyone with information on this incident to contact Whangārei Police on 105.
