Man in Australia appears in court over video of child driving — ABC News Australia

In Perth, Australia, 30-year-old Jake Douglas Smith appeared in court on a charge of reckless driving. Police allege that the man allowed a small child to drive a car while sitting on his lap without a seatbelt during a trip through residential streets in the city’s north.

Video from a residential area

As ABC News reports, police said Smith uploaded a video to social media in which he allegedly drives a Toyota Hilux in Alkimos on September 11 while holding a child on his lap. According to law enforcement, the child appeared to be controlling the steering wheel.

The recording shows the child’s hands on the steering wheel and the back of the child’s head as the vehicle moves through a residential neighbourhood. The car later drives onto a kerb and stops on a lawn near a house. A man’s voice can be heard in the video saying that a three-year-old child was driving the car. The post was accompanied by a caption about a three-year-old behind the wheel of a Hilux.

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Court hearing

The man was detained the following day at an address in Morley. On Friday, he represented himself at Joondalup Magistrates Court and asked for the case to be adjourned.

During the hearing, the court was told that Smith was subject to a conditionally suspended sentence of imprisonment. The court extended his bail until the next hearing, which is due to take place later this month. When asked by a journalist whether he himself had uploaded the video to social media, Smith said he was not very sure.