A man has been charged with reckless driving after video emerged of a three-year-old child apparently steering a car through a Perth suburb while sitting unrestrained on his lap.
The footage appears to show the man recording the incident on his phone as the toddler handles the wheel and is given directions. The vehicle can be seen mounting a kerb during the journey.
“Look, look, there’s my hands, it’s all [expletive]. Look where you’re going. Don’t crash,” the man says in the video.
He then appears to encourage the child to continue, saying: “Go straight, straight. Up the curb, up the curb.”
Police have described the footage as deeply concerning and said a vehicle is not a toy. The video and the driver are under investigation, with the man facing a reckless driving charge.
Former Western Australia police commissioner Karl O’Callaghan condemned the behaviour, describing it as among the most dangerous incidents he had seen during his time as a traffic officer.
“I’m staggered about how stupid this guy actually is,” he said.
WA Minister Matthew Swinbourn warned that the child could have been killed or permanently injured if a crash had occurred.
“We have had so many serious deaths on our roads and the government’s messaging around this is everybody’s responsibility to be safe and this is just ridiculous,” he said.
