Australian driver suspended for using car seat belts for beer instead of children

Ewan Palmer

Police caught the driver while patrolling a section of the Great Northern Highway

Broome Police/Facebook

A driver in Australia has been suspended for allegedly using his car seat belts to make sure his crates of beer were safe while leaving several children unrestrained. Officers from Broome Police in Western Australia said they detected the "serious traffic offence" while patrolling a section of the Great Northern Highway.

Police described how children were laying on adults laps and seated in the foot well while the car was moving, with the beer strapped safely into the seats. According to ABC News, one of the children who was not safely restrained inside the car was a baby less than one year old.

A 27-year-old man has now been charged with having no authority to drive and failure to restrain a child.

Kimberley District Superintendent Allan Adam said how she was not surprised by the incident, as this is the third time recently they have stopped vehicles along that route carrying large amounts of alcohol.

"We do have problems up here in the Kimberley," he said. "It shows some of the attitudes of some of our road users in the way they see their priorities. We are doing our best to stamp it out through enforcement, but we are also about to embark on public education, which is obviously needed in remote communities."