Minor offense

Police pull over car, find 5-year-old at the wheel

Officers discover pint-sized driver sitting on his 15-year-old brother’s lap, with teen saying he wanted to teach the child how to drive

By ToI Staff 21 February 2019, 5:54 pm

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Police question a 15-year-old boy who helped his brother, 5, drive their parents' car. (Israel Police)

When police recently pulled over an erratically moving vehicle in the northern Arab village of Zarzir, they were shocked to find that the driver was about 12 years short of the legal driving age.

The 5-year-old child at the wheel was perched on his older brother’s knees, who at just 15, was also ineligible for a license (the minimum driving age in Israel is 16 and nine months), Channel 12 news reported.

The report did not say when exactly the incident took place.

Police questioned the boy, who said he had decided to teach his brother to drive and let him sit on his lap and steer as they drove through their village.

Police confiscated the car for 30 days and the teen was summoned to appear in court along with his mother.

Police have launched an enforcement push in the north to catch drivers under the influence, without valid licenses or who present a danger to others on the road.

In August 2018, police pulled over a 10-year-old boy in a southern Israeli Bedouin village who told them he was driving his brother, 8, to a bathroom. The children were unharmed and did not cause any damage during their drive.