Drunk Aussie lets seven-year-old drive him home A new definition of drunk driving? Police on Friday charged a drunk man after pulling over a car on Australia's Gold Coast to allegedly find a seven-year-old boy driving him home at 3:00 am. A patrol car stopped the vehicle after it went by without its headlights on early Friday, to find the boy at the wheel and the man in the passenger seat. "A man has been charged with serious traffic offences after police intercepted a car allegedly being driven by a seven-year-old boy at Surfers Paradise in the early hours of this morning," police said. The 41-year-old was charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and being an adult in charge under the influence of alcohol. The boy is now in the care of relatives with Queensland state Transport Minister Scott Emerson saying he was stunned. "I shake my head and am shocked by the madness of this," Emerson told ABC radio. "I have been out there nearly every day talking about our road toll, that it's too high." Royal Automobile Club Queensland senior road safety adviser Joel Tucker told reporters it was lucky no one was hurt. "Children at that age don't have the mental or physical capabilities to drive a car safely," he said. "It is a real concern to hear that children were being put in that position."
Reminds me of a scene from the movie; Honky-Tonk Man. The setting is America in the 1940's. Clint Eastwards character sick from a life time of smoke and drink. He's a musician on travel. His 12 year old nephew is behind the wheel driving as they are pulled over by a cop. Cop tells Clint to drive, and ends up driving worse than the boy, so the cop stops them again and says; "Ah, let the boy drive". Great movie on so many levels, but unfortunately, the American audience really didn't embrace it enough to make it standout. I guess, today, if it's not about a super-hero with special powers, a Rambo type muscleman, or a zombie movie, it won't be a box office hit.
