Yahoo News Motorist banned from driving after filming boy, 3, dancing in front passenger seat while at the wheel
A motorist has been banned from driving for a year after she filmed a three-year-old boy dancing in the front passenger seat of her car while she was at the wheel.
Kerry White, 35, from Scarborough, posted the video, showing the young child moving to 90s dance song Everybody’s Free by Rozalla, on her Facebook page.
It was spotted on the social media platform by a member of the public who reported the video to police.
In the 30-second clip, White can be heard laughing, waving, singing along and shouting “show us your moves” to the boy while driving.
White, whose relationship with the boy cannot be revealed for legal reasons, filmed the boy on her mobile phone while driving in Scarborough on December 16, 2017.
When police tracked her down, she initially refused to answer questions about the footage and pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving.
However, she changed her plea prior to trial at York Crown Court and was handed a six-month sentence, suspended for twelve months, and banned from driving for 12 months.
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She was also required to complete 20 days unpaid work and told she must pay a £115 victim surcharge.
Prosecuting, Katrina Goodwin said the boy was not in a child seat and although he had an adult seat belt on, it was only around his waist.
Defending, Taryn Turner said: "This was a moment of extreme stupidity."
Judge Simon Hickey told White: "Anything could have happened whilst your attention was away from the road. He could have gone through the windscreen, so could you."
White has three previous drink-drive related offences, one for careless driving and one for failure to stop after an accident.
The judge said she had "a very poor record for driving" but he would suspend her prison sentence because her family needed her.
Following sentencing, Road Policing Officer Mark Patterson, from North Yorkshire Police, labelled White’s driving “highly irresponsible and incredibly dangerous”.
He said: “As the footage clearly shows, Miss White’s driving that day was highly irresponsible and incredibly dangerous and it’s only through sheer luck she wasn’t involved in a serious collision.
“Her blatant disregard for the safety of the child and traffic laws could have ended tragically and the consequences of her actions had she of lost control of her vehicle doesn’t bear thinking about.
“I’d like to thank the member of the public who reported this incident to us and I hope this message sends a clear message that this type of reckless behaviour will not be tolerated on our roads.”
