KID Safe WA is urging parents to be vigilant when it comes to children in cars after a Bunbury man was charged and sentenced for not properly restraining his five-year-old daughter.
Mason Manu Wharekawa faced Magistrate Dianne Scaddan at the Bunbury Magistrates Court on February 4, pleading guilty to charges of failing to ensure a passenger under 16 was properly restrained, excess .08 and having no authority to drive.
The court heard at 8.57pm on October 30 last year, Wharekawa was stopped by police on Hammersley Drive in Carey Park because of his manner of driving.
In the car, a five-year-old passenger was not restrained by any means as she sat in the front passenger seat of the vehicle.
In a roadside breathe test, Wharekawa blew a reading of .092 and it was ascertained his licence had been suspended until February 30, 2016.
A Kid Safe WA spokesperson said new laws reduce the risk of injury caused by the use of unsuitable restraints for a child’s size.
They said a child from birth up to the age of six months must be restrained in a rearward facing child restraint and from six months up to the age of four years to be restrained in either a rearward or forward facing child restraint with built-in harness.
From four years up to the age of seven years, a child must be restrained in either a forward facing child restraint or booster seat restrained by a correctly adjusted and fastened seat belt or child safety harness.
Children seven years and over can be restrained in an adult seat belt or booster seats but can sit in any seating position, provided they are suitably restrained.
Wharekawa’s lawyer said he deeply regretted his actions and was only going for a short drive to get dinner.
He was fined $2050 and his license was disqualified for a further nine months.