This is not likely a lesson any sane, rational person needs to learn, but if you put children in the trunk of your car you’re likely going to get a ticket.

In England a man by the name of  Zoltan Lakatos was stopped by police when they noticed he had an abundance of people crammed into his little Audi A4.  In point of fact he had 11 people in his car, but police didn’t notice them all right away.

Three adults and two children were in the back seat, with two adults in the front. When police stopped him, they heard more noises from the back of the car and found four more children in the trunk, or ‘boot’ as they say in England.

Boot, trunk, whatever. That’s where you are supposed to put your groceries, not your children.

To make matters even worse, Zoltan was driving without insurance, so if he had an accident, not only would the other driver be paying for his own damages, the national health care system would be paying for all the injuries sustained by the 11 people in Zoltan’s car.

England is 4,000 miles away, across the Atlantic Ocean, located on an island, but it’s not a foreign planet. They have traffic safety laws there just like we do. They might drive on the wrong side of the road (from our perspective) but they do it very safely.

And they get particularly distressed when drivers put their children in the boot (trunk.)

As part of his punishment for this mishmash of offenses Zoltan was convicted of endangering his passengers and driving without insurance and fined more than $2,000. He also had his license suspended for a year.

So let this be a lesson to you, if you’re planning a trip to England any time in the near future. Put your luggage in the trunk and put your children into proper car seats, safely buckled, where they belong. Not the other way around.

Image: J Fry / FreeDigitalPhotos.net