Beer is Given Priority on Seatbelt Over Child
When the police in Alice Springs, Australian pulled over a driver during a routine check they were amazed to see that he had carefully strapped in his ‘slab’ of 30 cans of beer with the seat belt yet a five year old boy was in the back seat with unrestrained!
Holden Commodore that was stopped held passengers of four adults inside plus the child. Between two of the adults in the back seat the plastic wrapped ‘tinnies’ were cushioned between them safely strapped in.
The officers within the Northern Terriitory were worked as part of a team on the look out for Aborigines smuggling beer into their ‘dry’ communities where alcohol is banned.
When the driver was questions as to why the beer was restrained yet the child was not, the police were met with a ‘blank look’ and told that he knew nothing about it.
He was then fined a total of £360 for driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle and for falling to ensure a child was wearing a seatbelt.
Superintendent Sean Parnell, of Alice Springs police, said the incident was a “timely reminder” to ensure “all passengers are secured”.
The police have always managed to maintain the flow of banned alcohol before but it was the first time they had seen a case of beer being given priority over a child.
Australia’s Recommended Safe Units are Higher
The area in the Northern Territory is giving great concern to authorities were a record number of motorists are being charged with drinking while under the influence of alcohol after randomly choose drivers to stop. While this operation was being held they found one in every twenty one drivers were over the limited.
Australia’s suggested ‘safe’ alcohol intake is actually higher than the recommended units in America and Britain. Here in the UK the figure is 21 units per week while over there it is as high as 35 units.
Alcohol consumption in the Northern Territory of Australia is 70 per cent higher than anywhere else in the country and given the example of the 1983 to 1991 Prime Minister Bob Hawke appearing in the Guiness Book of Records for drinking the fastest yard of ale can not surely be considered a good role model!
Austrailians are famous for their love of beer but to put a child in danger by not using a seat belt is beyond comprehension and downright stupid!