Police in Ontario Canada, pulled over a driver Tuesday after someone called in an anonymous complaint: A 2-year-old passenger was riding shotgun, strapped to a 30-can case of beer, in lieu of a car seat.
The driver, a 22-year-old man who was not identified by name in order to protect the child, was charged with failing to ensure the toddler was properly secured. “Driver used a case of beer for a booster-seat,” tweeted the police department.
The department added in a later tweet that the case was “factory sealed,” which meant the driver was not charged with an open container violation.
Luckily, the 2-year-old was unharmed, but CTV News reports that Family & Children’s Services was notified and an appropriate car seat was brought to the site.
2-year-old unharmed in @NorthPerth1 when @TwpWellNorth driver used a case of beer for a booster-seat. Driver charged w/ failing to ensure child properly seat-belted. Children under 40lbs require child-seat and under 8years&80lbs&4'9" require a booster ^JC #WellingtonOPP #PerthOPP
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The case was factory sealed. Reach law applies to open cases and open spirits. Great question.
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While the event was met by jokes on social media, it highlighted the importance of car seat safety for children.
According to Car Seats for the Littles, a non-profit organization founded by child passenger safety technicians in the United States and Canada, children should sit rear-facing in the backseat of a vehicle until a minimum age of 2 or they reach the height and weight limits for their five-point harness carseats.
When children have outgrown the rear-facing limits of their seats (and are at minimum, the age of 2), they can forward-face, also in a five-point harness seat. When children outgrow the weight-and-height requirements of their forward-facing seats (and are at least 5-years-old), they can graduate to a “belt positioning” booster seat (either high-back or backless depending on maturity levels) until they fit into a seatbelt.
Additionally, the car seat should be in the backseat and not the front, where air bags can severely injure small children.
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