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Please Don't Use A Case Of Beer As A Toddler Car Seat: Ontario Cops

It just isn't safe.
Ontario police found a two-year-old found sitting on a case of beer, as a makeshift booster seat.
Ontario Provincial Police, West Region
Ontario police found a two-year-old found sitting on a case of beer, as a makeshift booster seat.

File this one under, “Just ... no”: The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) charged a 22-year-old male driver in southwestern Ontario, after discovering a toddler sitting on a case of beer in his front seat.

The two-year-old passenger, for whom the beer case was a makeshift booster seat, was found unharmed Thursday when the vehicle was stopped because of a traffic complaint near Atwood, a town northwest of Kitchener, Ont.

The unnamed 22-year-old driver left the incident with a charge for failing to ensure the child was properly seat-belted.

In a different tweet, the police department confirmed that the case had not been opened and therefore didn’t violate the Liquor License Act: it’s illegal to drive with unsealed alcohol in a vehicle.

Child Protective Services was promptly notified and they brought a car seat to the scene, an OPP press release reported.

According to Ontario’s Highway Act, all children under 40 pounds require a child seat. Those under eight years old and 80 pounds require a booster seat.

Last month, a five-year-old was killed in a Winnipeg accident that injured two other children. With three children in the car, including a one-year-old and a five-year-old, there were only two car seats. It was unclear which child was riding without a car seat. No charges had been reported at the time of the head-on-collision.

The Toronto Police Auxiliary volunteers run monthly car-seat installation clinics as do organizations across Canada. St. John’s Ambulance also offers a by-donation car seat program.

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