A three-year-old boy was allegedly filmed steering a 4WD ute along suburban streets in Perth's north, prompting Western Australia Police to charge a 30-year-old man with reckless driving.
The footage, posted online on Friday, showed the toddler sitting unrestrained on a man's lap in the driver's seat of a Toyota Hilux, with his hands on the steering wheel as the vehicle swerved along a street in Alkimos.
The man, who appears to be filming the incident himself, can be heard urging the boy on. "Look, there's my hand... Look where you're going. Don't crash. Go straight!" he said, continuing to call out instructions before the ute came to a stop on the footpath. "We made it," he said afterwards.
Police arrested the man at an address in Morley on Saturday. He is due to face Joondalup Court on October 2.
Police response
WA Police Superintendent Michael Dalla-Costa described the alleged incident as deeply concerning. "Every parent and caregiver has a responsibility to keep children safe," he said.
"What we have seen in this vision is deeply concerning because it appears to show a very young child being allowed to control a moving vehicle," he said. "A vehicle is not a toy, and allowing a child to steer a moving vehicle, particularly if not properly restrained, can have serious consequences."
Dalla-Costa said the situation could easily have turned fatal. "One unexpected movement, a child running onto the road, a cyclist, a pedestrian, or a simple mistake could have ended in tragedy," he said.
Minister condemns footage
WA Minister Matthew Swinbourn was visibly shocked after watching the video. "It has made me angry and it needs to be condemned in the strongest terms possible - there's no defence," he said.
"If there was an accident, this child would be facing death or permanent injury," Swinbourn said. He added that Western Australia had recorded numerous serious deaths on its roads, and that the government's message was that road safety was everybody's responsibility. "This is just ridiculous," he said.
Alkimos is a coastal suburb in Perth's northern corridor. The man is scheduled to appear at Joondalup Court, which serves the northern Perth metropolitan area, on October 2.
