I spotted a tiny blurb in the paper this morning about this incident, so Googled the case. Lots of news sites reporting it, but they're all essentially re-wording this NSW Police press release and using stock photos.

On one hand, I think just about all of us did this as kids at some point. But it was always on private land/dirt tracks. Never on a major highway at 1:30am relying on the kid to steer while dad was struggling to stay awake. This is next-level irresponsible.

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[–] ryannathans@aussie.zone 2 points 7 months ago* (1 child)

Police will allege the man was under significant fatigue

Probably because of the time of day, doesn't mean he was actually struggling to stay awake (not that a child should be driving on the highway, but the claim does sound exaggerated)

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[–] CTDummy@aussie.zone 2 points 7 months ago

That’s probably what he told them when they turned up to his house and asked “hey why the fuck does this photo show a child driving your car on the highway without a seatbelt”. Doesn’t sound exaggerated imo and the charges match. If someone lacks the forethought to not let a kid who’s brain isn’t halfway finished developing operate several tonnes of motor vehicle on the highway, they probably did the interview off the cuff without talking to a solicitor.

I was similar to OP, we were taught to drive on private property due to living in regional areas but always supervised and never near public roads. One of my parents worked in a regional hospital during their training/residency days. The stories involving motor vehicle accidents I’ve heard definitely were enough for me to understand why it’s taken seriously.

The human body doesn’t do well when ejected through a windshield at highway speeds due to not wearing a seatbelt. Doesn’t do many favours to the psyche of those who have to clean up/try to save them afterwards either.

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