Police 'speechless' after making dangerous discovery in back of car
A motorist has been caught with two unrestrained children in the back of a car, including a two-month old baby, leaving many shocked.
Police in Melbourne’s north were left ‘speechless’ by what they found when they pulled over the driver at a breath testing site earlier this week.
Inspecting the car as it stopped at Grand Boulevard in Craigieburn, officers said they initially spotted a young child standing on the floor of the car behind the front seats.
But that was not the only terrifying thing they noticed about the passengers.
“Upon closer inspection, they found another child, being a 2 month old baby being held by a back seat passenger,” Highway Patrol officers wrote on the Hume Eyewatch Facebook page on Wednesday.
“How could anybody place their kids in danger like this? Speechless!”
Many responded to the post, condemning the adults in the car for not safely restraining the young children.
Another commented: “Thank you for stopping them. It defies logic that people do such stupid things.”
“The road condition is so bad on Grand Blvd that any child not restrained would think they're in a jumping castle,” one local added.
Driving with children, particularly babies, without seatbelts or proper restraints was “absolutely not acceptable” said Sergeant Dean Pickering of the Fawkner Highway Patrol.
“We see it on a near daily basis,” he told Yahoo News Australia.
“It’s horrible to think what could happen ... To have an unrestrained child, particularly for a baby or young child, it doesn’t take a big crash for a child to be hurt.
“It does’t even need to be a crash – it could be just hitting the brakes suddenly.”
A dad himself, Sergeant Pickering added: “It’s not a chance I’d be taking as a parent.”
He urged parents not to be complacent, and to ensure all children are restrained while travelling in vehicles, even if it’s just a short drive.
What’s the fine for children not wearing a seatbelt
In Victoria, motorists caught driving with an unrestrained passenger under the age of 16 can lose three demerit points and be fined $363.
It is the same penalty for driving with a passenger under 16 occupying the same seating position as another passenger.
Over the Easter weekend a Sydney driver was hit with 33 demerit points after a random breath test uncovered two unrestrained children in the back seat of a van, and three more under a blanket on the floor.
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