Aussie L-plater caught driving and texting with a BABY on her lap
An Aussie mum has been convicted of a shocking road act, driving with her unrestrained baby on her lap, while also holding her phone.
The woman, from Sydney's southwest who was on a learner's licence at the time of the offence, was captured on a phone detection camera on November 1, before being reported to police by Transport for NSW.
NSW Police confirmed the 28-year-old mum was driving with a Queensland 'learner' licence without supervision. To top it off, she was not wearing a seatbelt while behind the wheel, which put her life and that of her baby at risk.
The brazen footage was shared on Tuesday night's A Current Affair and shows the woman with one hand on the steering wheel, with the other gripping her phone. A young baby can be seen sitting in her lap without a child restraint. All are fineable offences.
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The woman was charged with five offences including reckless driving, using a mobile phone while not permitted, driving with an unrestrained child, being unaccompanied as a learner driver and not wearing a seatbelt properly. She pleaded guilty in court to all five charges.
The 28-year-old was issued a six-month community corrections order but avoided any time in custody. She was also disqualified from holding a driver's licence for 12 months and fined a total of $300.
Illegal to drive with baby unrestrained
NSW guidelines require children up to the age of six months to be restrained in a rear-facing child car seat. Children aged between six and 12 months must use either a rear‑facing child car seat or a forward-facing child car seat with an inbuilt harness, and a booster seat must be used for children up to seven.
Speaking to ACA, Transport's Bernard Carlon said last year was the first year on record where there were no deaths on the road due to unrestrained babies. He said that's down from more than 50 in the 70s, and that's due to the laws around child safety.
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