‘There is a boot’: Cute China children stopped by police for driving toy car on road delight social media by telling officers vehicle is legal

Trio of young kids stopped by officers while on escapade in toy electric car outside residential community. When told they were driving illegally, child tells police car is legal because it has 4 seats and a boot. — SCMP

The story of a trio of young children in China who were pulled over by the police for driving a toy car on a main road has delighted millions on mainland social media.

Surveillance video of the incident has attracted four million views on Douyin, the mainland equivalent of TikTok, after it was posted on the official account of police in Dayao county, in southwestern China’s Yunnan province on Oct 6.

The three children, two of whom appeared to be around six years old and one who was even younger, were enjoying a ride in an electric toy car outside their residential compound when they were stopped by a police car.

One of the officers told them they were breaking the law by “driving an overloaded vehicle without licence”.

In a cute response to police questioning, a boy from the group replied: “Our car is not overloaded because it has four seats, plus a boot.”

His reaction amused the police officers and many people online.

“This young driver doesn’t have a licence and his car doesn’t have a number plate. I say we ban him from taking a driving test for five years and report the matter to his kindergarten,” joked one online observer.

“Even these kids know how to keep their car on the correct side of the road while driving, which is more than some adults do,” said another.

However, some people criticised the children’s parents for not looking after their kids properly.

“It is lucky they were stopped by the police before anything bad happened to them,” a third person said.

The police warned the trio’s parents about keeping the toy car in the residential compound.

Quirky but cute incidents involving children often cause delight and hilarity on mainland social media.

In September, a one-year-old boy from China’s eastern Anhui province proposed a toast to a group of adult strangers in the room next to his in a restaurant in a vivid imitation which amused many online.

Last month, the media outlet Bailu Video told the amusing story of a two-year-old toddler who ran away from home so that he could “attend kindergarten” because he was jealous of slightly older children who were able to go to nursery school. – South China Morning Post