James Delahunty
8 Aug 2009 7:02
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.