Australian fined for buckling in beer, not child

AP on Yahoo ^ | 5/13/08 | AP

[NormsRevenge]

DARWIN, Australia - An Australian man has been fined after buckling in a case of beer with a seat belt but leaving a 5-year-old child to sit on the car's floor, police said Tuesday.

Constable Wayne Burnett said he was "shocked and appalled" when he pulled over the unregistered car Friday in the central Australian town of Alice Springs.

The 30-can beer case was strapped in between two adults sitting in the back seat of the car. The child was also in back, but on the car's floor.

"The child was sitting in the lump in the center, unrestrained," Burnett told reporters Tuesday.

"I haven't ever seen something like this before," he said. "This is the first time that the beer has taken priority over a child."

The driver was fined 750 Australian dollars — about $710 — for driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle and for failing to ensure a child was wearing a safety belt.

[republicanequestrian]

It’s the dumb ones that are always the evidence in favor of “hold my hand” laws.

[dblshot]

DARWIN, Australia

Home of the Darwin Award?

[Corin Stormhands]

Didn’t we hear a similar story to this here in the states? A few months back?

[Borges]

[scottinoc]

Australian for stupid

[Mrs.Z]

Exactly.

Some people are wasting their time trying to reproduce.

[WayneS]

“Hold my beer. Watch this!”

[WayneS]

Was it Foster’s?

Because Foster’s IS pretty darn good beer.

;^)

[nevergore]

A man has got to have his priorities......

“Sorry Junior, it is a case of Guiness”

[swain_forkbeard]

Priorities.

[southernnorthcarolina]

The 30-can beer case was strapped in between two adults sitting in the back seat of the car. The child was also in back, but on the car's floor.

Wait. A case has 30 cans in Australia?

I got no time to worry about some damn kid. I'm moving to Austalia!

[southernnorthcarolina]

I'm moving to Austalia!

Or better yet, Australia!

[thulldud]

Starting early?

[Duck Fan]

Damn, beat me to it. :-)

[steveo]

Near Sacramento a couple of months back, there was a guy who was injured when he drove his car into a tree. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt but his 12-pack was buckled in. I don’t think the story made it out of town...

[Ingtar]

All I could think of was Icanhascheeseburger.com:

Darwin award

UR doin it wrong!

[AU72]

“It’s all about the beer!”

[southernnorthcarolina]

Starting early?

It's 5:00 somewhere...

[dfwgator]

How to speak Australian:

Children.

[dighton]

[LibWhacker]

Darwin Award material should only endeavor to kill itself, never someone else. For instance, this guy has it right:

Three cheers for responsible Darwin Award contestants!

[PBRSTREETGANG]

It can be tough growing up as a Foster’s-child.

[Squawk 8888]

In Canada, a standard case is 24, pronounced two-four. We have a national holiday in honour of it this coming weekend, known as “May Two-Four”.

The brewers occasionally do a promo where they sell a case of 28 for the same price.

[Squawk 8888]

Beery non-ping.

[Ingtar]

Nice red x!

(I’m sure it is the nanny software here at work.)

[calex59]

Guy’s got his priorities straight I see. Kid was safe on the floor but the beer could have been shaken up excessively. (Sarcasm folks)

[Wolfie]

Yep. Super Bowl Sunday in Florida.

[On the Road to Serfdom]

“This is the first time that the beer has taken priority over a child.”

I am not seeing it. How is the beer taking priority? Maybe the child wanted to play on the floor and they strapped the beer so it would not fall and hit the child. I apologize for bringing logic into the thread but this is a unfair attack on the parents.

Maybe they were wrong to not have the child belted (by today’s norms)but that is all. Trying to spin it as Beer>Child makes a “funny” story and all but it is not logical. Does beer like to sit on the seat? Does strapping the beer protect the beer?(How?) or the child sitting in front of it?

[Slings and Arrows]

Now we know what happened to Lootie.

[Moose4]

Wait. A case has 30 cans in Australia?

I think that's one of those metric cases.

}:-)4

[Berlin_Freeper]

You can always have another child but beer you have to pay for.

[The SISU kid]

Beer Ping!!!

[NormsRevenge]

You can always have another child but beer you have to pay for.

—

Good thing they didn’t hit any speedbumps.. a blow’d up diaper is one thing, a blow’d beer quite another.

[GOP_Raider]

(At least we don't have to wonder if he had an Obama sticker on his car)

Beer Ping!

A low to medium ping list aimed at all of us who, well, love our beer…

FReepmail rzeznikj at stout or GOP_Raider to be added or struck from the list…

[alarm rider]

It’s a true wonder that anyone ever lived before mandatory seat belt laws.

[dynachrome]

uninsured. check

unregistered. check

Beer belted in. check.

Time for a cruise!

[Tainan]

Whats the problem here?

Safety first!

[BJClinton]

Australian fined for buckling in beer, not child

Let's not rush to judgment now.


What kind of beer was it?

[SquirrelKing]

Last year at my house:

Even so, I drove extra careful...

[Henchster]

Warsteiner! That stuff rocks!