A couple in China let their five-year-old daughter drive their car while filming her and posted the video online, claiming it was a ‘driving lesson’. After the parents posted the video of the girl behind the wheel on social media it was reported to police by shocked Internet users. — SCMP
A couple in China have been fined after posting on social media a video of their five-year-old daughter behind the wheel of their car and driving on the road during what they claimed was a “lesson”.
The parents from Zhuzhou in Hunan, central China, let their daughter drive their car around in a built-up area in late September while filming her on a smartphone, people.cn reported.
A video published online shows the car driving along a road at a modest speed, the father, surnamed Kuang, is in the driver’s seat with his daughter on his lap steering the car.
“Press on the accelerator a little harder,” the father tells the girl.
The girl can be seen gripping the steering wheel and turning it every now and then.
The girl’s mother was in the passenger seat while filming her daughter driving.
“You are driving very well,” the mother said.
The couple were excited about their daughter’s driving and posted the video on social media, oblivious to the fact they had broken the law. It was not long before someone called the local police after seeing the disturbing video.
When the family realised this they rushed to the police station where an officer tried to explain why small children should not drive cars.
“No child is allowed to sit in the driver’s seat when a vehicle starts to move. No matter if you hold her or let her sit alone, it’s prohibited,” the officer said.
Kuang explained to the officer that his daughter insisted on sitting on his lap because she felt unwell. He claimed to be a veteran driver and trusted his road skills while teaching his daughter to drive. They said they filmed the incident because they thought it would be “fun”.
After the officers went through the many reasons why letting a five-year-old drive a car was illegal and just a terrible idea, the couple acknowledged their mistake. Kuang was fined 50 yuan (RM32) and lost three driving points from his licence.
On Weibo most people said the family was irresponsible.
“It’s too dangerous. Are the parents not aware of that?” wrote one person.
Another said: “Please respect the lives of others.”
In another case, an angry mother in China was fined for placing her son on the roof of her car while driving earlier this year.
In June, traffic police in Hebei fined a father 1,000 yuan (RM653) after he let his 12-year-old son drive a car on an expressway. – South China Morning Post
