Disturbing video: Police find children on the floor and in boot of a car during a routine patrol

Disturbing footage shows shocked police find two children unrestrained in a vehicle, including one in the boot, during a routine stop.

Disturbing footage of children travelling in the “boot” of a vehicle and another wedged between seats has been released as new technology detects more than 1600 drivers not wearing seatbelts and 7000 motorists using mobile phones.

The Queensland technology trial has revealed thousands of recalcitrant drivers with police dumbfounded at the high number of motorists disobeying basic road rules as the yearly road toll has already equalled the 2019 total.

There have been 219 deaths on Queensland’s roads this year, 34 more than for the same time last year.

Police pulled over a driver who returned an illegal blood alcohol limit. They also found a child in the rear of the vehicle. Picture: Supplied/QPS

Queensland police are trialling new technology that not only detects motorists using mobile phones but also whether a seat belt is being worn.

In one particular region, about 40 motorists a day were being detected not wearing a seatbelt and it had Department of Transport head Andrew Mahon shaking his head.

The General Manager of Land Transport Safety and Regulation, Mr Mahon said the trial would last until Christmas but the initial data was astonishing.

He said seat belts were made compulsory in 1972 and it was “incredibly sad” people were still dying because they were not buckling up.

“Over the last five years, on average, 31 people die from not wearing a seatbelt,” he said.

He said the high number of deaths was why camera technology was being trialled.

“About 1600 people in the last two months have been detected not wearing their seatbelt which is an alarming figure,” he said.

“In some locations, we are seeing up to 40 a day. This issue has to be addressed.”

A child is on the floor behind the front seats. The driver returned a blood alcohol reading above the legal limit. Picture: Supplied/QPS

Under Queensland’s road rules, anyone over the age of 16 caught not wearing a seat belt faces a $400 fine, while the driver faces a $400 fine, and the loss of three demerit points if any passenger is found to be not correctly wearing a seat belt.

The number of motorists using a mobile phone while driving was almost five times as many as those not wearing a seatbelt.

Queensland drivers face a $1000 fine and the loss of four demerit points for using a mobile phone, other than in a parked vehicle.

“We’ve monitored over two million vehicles and, during that period, we’ve also found over 7000 vehicles were likely using a mobile phone illegally,” he said.

“We are assessing the technology at the moment to make sure it is robust. but those alarming numbers.”

Originally published as Disturbing video: Police find children on the floor and in boot of a car during a routine patrol