Dog captured on speed camera behind the wheel of speeding car

When police reviewed an image captured by a speed camera, they were not expecting to see a dog with its paw on the wheel.

The driver of a car clocked speeding has been fined after a speed camera photo showed a dog behind the wheel.

The brown hunting dog, named Havino, apparently jumped into the driver’s lap while he was driving recently in the central European country of Slovakia.

In the photo, Havino appeared to be perfectly comfortable in the Skoda’s driver’s seat and even seemed to have a cheeky smile on his face.

Local police, according to a Facebook post, pulled the 31-year-old driver over shortly after the scene was captured on camera.

While the driver claimed Havino had suddenly and unexpectedly jumped onto his lap while driving, police said footage told a different story.

There was no apparent sudden movements in the car to speak of, police said.

“Police officers could not believe their eyes,” the post to Facebook read.

“Instead of a photo of the driver, a brown hunting dog was smiling beautifully into the camera.”

This cheeky dog was clocked at the wheel of his owner’s car. Picture: Policia Slovenskej Republiky

They added the driver was fined “on the spot for violating traffic regulations”.

Police didn’t however disclose if the man was fined for speeding or allowing his dog to drive.

In the post, they warned drivers against letting their pets distract them from the road.

“Even a small animal can endanger your life and health while driving,” police said.

Penalty for driving with a dog in Australia

All Australian states a territories have penalties for drivers busted with a dog in their lap of whose control of the vehicle is affected by their pet.

In Victoria, it is an offence to drive with an animal on your lap, or be leading an animal from any seat in the vehicle.

A breach of these rules carries an infringement fine of $277, while a maximum of five penalty units could be issued in court worth $925.

Drivers in NSW caught with a dog in their lap could be slapped with a fine of $362 and three demerit points, which could increase in a school zone.

An even bigger fine of $481 could be applied if its deemed the driver had failed to maintain proper control of their vehicle while driving.

Queensland also has a hefty possible fine of $335 for drivers clocked with a pet on their lap.

In South Australia, the ACT, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, it is illegal to have a pet on your lap while driving, however it was unclear what the specific fine would be.

Western Australian drivers can be fined up to one demerit point and a $100 fine for having a dog on their lap while driving.

Additional penalties could apply if the dog’s presence constitutes careless driving, which would carry a $300 fine and three demerit points, or up to $1500 and a loss of licence.

If the dog impairs a driver’s control of the steering wheel, a $100 fine and one demerit point could apply.

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