Police investigating as footage emerges of 3yo toddler behind the wheel of a car

Police are investigating after shocking footage emerged of a child behind the wheel of a car, ‘driving’ on a Perth road.

The clip posted to social media appears to show a three-year-old, unrestrained and steering the car while sitting on the lap of the man recording the stunt on his phone.

“Go . . . steer! Look, look there’s my hands it’s all . . . look where you’re going! Don’t crash!” the man says in the footage.

“Oh s..t go straight straight straight . . . go up the curb, up the curb.

“Oh we made it! Yeah . . . say hello yeah I did it! Three-year-old driving a car!”

The reckless journey through the suburban Perth street was quickly slammed by WA’s former top cop Karl O’Callaghan.

“I was a traffic cop for about six years and I’ve seen a lot of crazy things,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

“This has to rank up there with one of the most crazy and dangerous things I have seen.

The video and the driver are now under investigation, with police describing the vision as “deeply concerning”, saying a vehicle is “not a toy”.

“Children rely on adults to make safe decisions on their behalf. A vehicle is not a toy, and allowing a child to steer a moving vehicle, particularly if not properly restrained, can have serious consequences,” Road Policing Operations Superintendent Michael Dalla-Costa said.

“When people watch footage like this, it is easy to focus on what happened. We also need to think about what could have happened.

“One unexpected movement, a child running onto the road, a cyclist, a pedestrian, or a simple mistake could have ended in tragedy.”

“Had this vehicle lost control or been involved in a crash, the child would have been vulnerable to serious injury.”

Supt Dalla-Costa said adults are expected to protect children — “not place them in situations where they are exposed to unnecessary danger”.