Video posted of 7 year old driving an SUV - criminal charges likely

Video posted of 7 year old driving an SUV - criminal charges likely
In yet another example of how law enforcement can use online video and other content to find criminal or dangerous behavior and then do something about it in the "real world", a police investigation has been launched by Quebec provincial police over a YouTube video which shows a 7 year old driving an SUV.

The kid is in the driving seat cruising along a country road as he is cheered on by his family. His father, in the passenger seat cheerfully notes as he passes 40km/h that it's "a little fast", but later on when he hits 70km/h, he laughs and says, "he's rolling, he's rolling."



His mother is sitting behind the driver's seat with a little girl on her lap, and an older boy sitting beside her - none wearing seat belts. Bloggers picked up on the video and started writing about it. It was removed from YouTube but re-surfaced again later on the site and on other video sites.

"Since seeing this video, we've opened an investigation," Sgt. Chantal Mackels of the Quebec provincial police, said Monday. "Once the investigation is over with, we'll give it to the Crown prosecutor who will analyze it and decide if he's issuing a criminal offence."

A man claiming to be the father from the video told CBC News that he regrets the stunt but argues that his child was not in any danger. He claimed that the driving was done in a safe and controlled environment, on a quiet country road where there was no danger. He said the video was taken two years ago and that he would talk to police about the incident.

The police didn't elaborate on what charges might be in store for the parents, but how about an extra charge of "sheer idiocy" for allowing their fun home video of them breaking several laws to appear on the world's largest video-sharing website.

Written by: James Delahunty @ 8 Aug 2009 7:02
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  • 14 comments
  • wabashman

    who cares? i was driving when i was eight around home.

    8.8.2009 11:00 #1

  • varnull

    It's a public highway.. different.. what if these idiots had been involved in an accident and landed somebody in hospital seriously injured? .. That isn't an insured driver. And the brat isn't wearing his seat belt even.. I believe that's also illegal in Canada.

    8.8.2009 11:09 #2

  • wabashman

    the article stated it was on a county road, which is where i learned how to drive. i remember it fondly, passed one of my best friends who was also my age doing farm chores. hell, i drove back from detroit michigan to by house (about 6 hours) by myself when i was 15 when we went up and bought a car.

    and he didnt cause anyone to end up in the hospital, so why bother wasting tax payers money on something so stupid when it could be spent on better things, like oh i dont know, catching the real killers/rapists/drug dealers.

    8.8.2009 11:18 #3

  • varnull

    As somebody who grew up in the country I can categorically state that narrow country roads are probably among the most dangerous places to pull this kind of stunt.. animals, walkers and farm vehicles abound.. along with blind corners and high hedges.

    Just because nothing happened doesn't make this any less of a crime.. they have helpfully provided the evidence of aiding and abetting an uninsured and unlicensed driver to drive at speed.. did they have learner plates on the vehicle? .. does the kid have a learners license? .. err.. NO .. uninsured and unlicensed drivers are responsible for a high percentage of road accidents. It's almost a shame they didn't wrap up and kill themselves.. the coroner would have put it down as gross stupidity and misadventure.. and the insurance companies would have refused to pay out.

    So you support unlicensed and uninsured drivers careering around the roads without any control? I bet you won't feel the same if one of them crashed into you and you had to pay all your medical bills and an increased insurance premium for your vehicle.. It's fine to sit there saying it's ok to pull stunts like this.. but really it isn't. People are hurt and killed every day by illegal drivers.. I fully support the police and the courts getting them off the roads. I don't think in many cases the penalties are high enough.



    Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work.
    I would rather you hate me for who I am than love me for what I am not.
    “It is poor civic hygiene to install technologies that could someday facilitate a police state.” - Bruce Schneier

    8.8.2009 11:27 #4

  • wabashman

    i actually have been hit by an unlicensed, uninsured person. she was going to see their dope dealing murder husband in the prison close to my home. luckily in indiana at the time, not sure if there still is, a way to force to her to pay for the damages done. so my premiums did not increase at all since she was a complete retard and ran into the side of my truck.

    8.8.2009 11:37 #5

  • varnull

    I was cut down by a hit and run by an unregistered vehicle. They never traced the owner or the driver.. they never found the car either. It was nice losing my job and home as a result of my injuries.

    You were lucky with your insurance.. sounds like a decent company. Over here they tend to laugh, refuse to pay out.. or if they do then rack up your premiums by 25%



    Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work.
    I would rather you hate me for who I am than love me for what I am not.
    “It is poor civic hygiene to install technologies that could someday facilitate a police state.” - Bruce Schneier

    8.8.2009 11:49 #6

  • wabashman

    the way i got the money wasnt through my insurance though. it was through a state program that covers you in case you get hit someone that doesnt have insurance. i think the program was started due the high influx of mexican immigrants that started moving here a few years ago. and about 90% of these people were illegals, that didnt have insurance, a license or anything at all. so instead of just deporting these people and saying, hey tough crap, go back to mexico until you get your stuff in order, they just use tax payers money to pay the people they, or any other uninsured person they hit.

    8.8.2009 12:13 #7

  • DXR88

    Originally posted by wabashman: who cares? i was driving when i was eight around home.the point is they where stupid enough to post it on younoob.

    i started driving when i was 8 but there where rules. you did what was said not what you did.

    8.8.2009 12:14 #8

  • varnull

    I learned to drive farm machinery off road. Legal and safe... if a tractor on a hill is ever safe XD



    Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work.
    I would rather you hate me for who I am than love me for what I am not.
    “It is poor civic hygiene to install technologies that could someday facilitate a police state.” - Bruce Schneier

    8.8.2009 12:18 #9

  • wabashman

    Originally posted by varnull: I learned to drive farm machinery off road. Legal and safe... if a tractor on a hill is ever safe XDlol. i still hate driving tractors sideways on hills. come to think of it, i dont even like mowing on a hill.

    8.8.2009 12:25 #10

  • windsong

    Always use Tor if youre going to post something illegal on the net..pics/vids, doesnt matter.

    8.8.2009 14:50 #11

  • Mysttic

    DXR88

    the point is they where stupid enough to post it on younoob. 
    That is the first thing I told my wife when I read about it. My dad let me drive his car when I was young, but it was like a block and then told to park it in the driveway. He wasn't dumb enough to record it, and he made me where a seat belt; but in society's eyes it's still wrong.

    If the guy was even an inch smart, I know at least in Ontario, Canada if you drive in a parking lot, its not illegal no matter how old or if you carry a valid license. You don't need to own the vehicle either, just the owner needs to be there, meaning he should have taken his kid to a lot if he didn't want to face charges. Personally just for posting this vid on youtube, he deserves whatever he gets.

    8.8.2009 22:35 #12

  • chris4160

    I first drove when I was 9, but that was on an empty parking lot, and not with my young brothers or sisters in the back, and it was not filmed. Imagine the guilt that kid would of faced if he crashed and his whole family was killed except for himself, could you live with that?

    9.8.2009 00:43 #13

  • riggarob

    If, if, if........If a frog had wings, it wouldn't bump it's a$$ when it jumped. I startd driving when I was 10, been drivin' now for 50 years. Next time maybe the dopes will wear masks when they post on the largest video site in the world !!!

    13.8.2009 23:01 #14

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