Father fined for letting toddler steer vehicle

A man surnamed Liu from Tongren city in southwest China’s Guizhou Province has been fined 250 yuan (US$38) and had five points deducted from his driver's license for letting his baby daughter sit on his lap to steer the car, according to local police.

As a viral video taken on August 25 showed, the man was driving on a village road around 12:15pm with his baby girl sitting on his lap, who he then let steer the car. The baby girl held the wheel with both of her hands as Liu leaned back in his seat to conduct her driving.

According to the video, the baby girl looked round for her mother who was recording the scene by mobile phone from the passenger seat several times during her drive. Her mother reminded her to keep looking ahead while laughing with the father.

Netizens commented that the act was so risky that it not only posed a danger to the family in the car, but also to other vehicles and pedestrians.

Liu told the local police during their investigation that he took his daughter upon his lap to comfort her as she was crying and his wife was pregnant. He said he didn’t realize his wife was videoing at the time. Liu hadn’t completed an annual inspection for his car either, local police said.