Source : Perth Now news
Police are investigating after shocking footage emerged of a child behind the wheel of a car, ‘driving’ on a Perth road.
The clip posted to social media appears to show a three-year-old, unrestrained and steering the car while sitting on the lap of the man recording the stunt on his phone.
“Go . . . steer! Look, look there’s my hands it’s all . . . look where you’re going! Don’t crash!” the man says in the footage.
“Left that way that way that way go go go!
“Oh s..t go straight straight straight . . . go up the curb, up the curb.
“Oh we made it! Yeah . . . say hello yeah I did it! Three-year-old driving a car!”
The reckless journey through the suburban Perth street was quickly slammed by WA’s former top cop Karl O’Callaghan.
“I was a traffic cop for about six years and I’ve seen a lot of crazy things,” Mr O’Callaghan said.
“This has to rank up there with one of the most crazy and dangerous things I have seen.
“I’m staggered about how stupid this guy actually is.”
The video and the driver are now under investigation, with police describing the vision as “deeply concerning”, saying a vehicle is “not a toy”.
“Children rely on adults to make safe decisions on their behalf. A vehicle is not a toy, and allowing a child to steer a moving vehicle, particularly if not properly restrained, can have serious consequences,” Road Policing Operations Superintendent Michael Dalla-Costa said.
“When people watch footage like this, it is easy to focus on what happened. We also need to think about what could have happened.
“One unexpected movement, a child running onto the road, a cyclist, a pedestrian, or a simple mistake could have ended in tragedy.”
“Had this vehicle lost control or been involved in a crash, the child would have been vulnerable to serious injury.”
Supt Dalla-Costa said adults are expected to protect children — “not place them in situations where they are exposed to unnecessary danger”.
“The overwhelming majority of parents and carers do the right thing every day. Incidents like this serve as an important reminder that safety must always come first, no matter how short the journey or how harmless a decision might seem at the time.”
Labor Minister Matthew Swinbourn also expressed his dismay at the reckless stunt, labelling it “just ridiculous”.
“If there was an accident this child would be facing death or permanent injury,” Mr Swinbourn said.
“The fact that somebody would let a child be behind a wheel of their car for their amusement and obviously for their entertainment and their clout on social media is just appalling.”
Investigators are appealing for witnesses, or anyone with dash-cam, mobile phone or CCTV vision of the incident, to contact Crime Stoppers online at www.crimestopperswa.com.au or by calling 1800 333 000.
