An mother who let her three-year-old daughter sit on her lap unrestrained and drive her car said she was just trying to ‘calm her down’.
The shocking vision shows the toddler holding onto the steering wheel without a seatbelt as they drove through the northern Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth South.
In the video, the mother can be seen letting her daughter honk the horn as a passenger can be heard laughing.
The passenger then high-fives the child and asks ‘do you want to do skids’?
An mother who let her three-year-old daughter sit on her lap unrestrained and drive her car (pictured) said she was just trying to ‘calm her down’
The mother said that her daughter was upset and she was only trying to ‘calm her down’.
‘I remember when I was a little kid and I really wanted to see what it was like in the drivers seat,’ she told 9News Adelaide.
‘Yeah I just thought, you know, that my daughter might like it.’
The video that was posted to social media sparked outrage from fellow parents.
One woman said: ‘I think that is absolutely disgusting…that’s not good at all.’
‘I’ve got four children and there’s no way that I would ever put my children’s lives in danger,’ another commented.
A third said: ‘Re-think your actions…maybe put your child first.’
The mother now regrets having put her child in danger and said ‘I feel like an idiot for doing it’
After having had time to reflect on the incident, the mother now regrets her actions.
‘I know it was a really bad thing for me to do and I’m definitely not going to do it again,’ she said.
‘It was a once off thing and I feel like an idiot for doing it… so I apologise to everybody,’ she added.
Police have been made aware of the incident and have stated all children aged seven-years-old and under must be seated in an approved child restraint.
The driver potentially risks coping a fine of up to $500 and three demerit points for the incident.