Children's feet seen dangling from the open door of a Ritchies bus travelling on a 100km/h road. / Supplied by Danielle Silich
An Auckland woman has been left horrified after being overtaken by a vanload of schoolgirls who sat dangling their legs out the door on a stretch of State Highway 1.
Danielle Silich told the Herald she was surprised none of the students were killed as she watched them travel for at least 15 minutes laughing with their legs hanging out of the sliding door.
Silich had forwarded the video to police and Ritchies Coachlines, as well as to Whangarei Girls' High School, where the students attend.
Principal Anne Cooper said it was a miracle none of the girls were killed and she would address the issue when school resumed next week.
Silich said they were travelling on SH1 about 10km south of Mangamuka Village, south of Kaitaia, about 5pm yesterday when the van came up behind their vehicle.
"The van drove past us while there was oncoming traffic with the girls' legs hanging out. We were travelling at 100km/h so they would have had to speed to get past us.
"We were just shocked, really. The girls were waving out to us like what they were doing was cool. We were definitely worried for their safety. I would have expected the girls to know better and the driver to not allow such dangerous behaviour."
Silich said she had contacted the school, which told her the Ritchies vehicle was being driven by a parent.
"Other than the legs hanging out and the first initial dangerous overtaking, the van stuck to the speed limit but the girls' legs remained outside the vehicle through the gorge."
The occupants of the car behind the van were concerned for the schoolgirls dangling their legs on the open road.
She said it began to rain so the girls closed the door. However, they reopened it once the weather cleared.
"I rang the *555 number as soon as we saw them but didn't see a police car for the rest of the drive."
One of the students also posted the video to Instagram, titled "free aircon".
The schoolgirls themselves posted a video.
A parent of one of the students in the van declined to comment when contacted.
Whangarei Girls' High School principal Anne Cooper confirmed she had been alerted to the video by a concerned parent.
"I am very grateful that she has brought this to our attention and am pleased she has contacted the police.
"I am extremely concerned that the girls concerned could so easily have been killed or seriously injured and it is a miracle that they weren't. We do take this seriously and will be investigating when school returns on Wednesday."
A police spokesperson said driver behaviour and speed are some of the main contributing factors to crashes, which can include people not driving to the conditions, and being distracted.
"This particular case of distracted and unsafe driving is dangerous, and given their responsibility to their passengers, it's simply unacceptable.
