A 10-year-old boy who was picked up by police as he drove his younger brother along a busy Australian highway to visit their grandmother has escaped with a warning.
Shocked motorists reported seeing the boy at the wheel of a station wagon as it traveled at speeds of up to 90 kph (56 mph) on one of the main roads between New South Wales and Queensland states on Saturday, police said.
Police said the boys had decided to drive the roughly 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the house where their grandmother was staying in the town of Moree to their grandfather's place in Boggabilla in northern New South Wales.
They had traveled about 80 kilometers (50 miles) before police caught up with them and signaled for them to pull over, at which point the boy calmly brought the car to a stop at the side of the road, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on its Web site.
The boys were taken to a nearby police station and their grandfather was called to pick them up, Moree Sgt. Matt Clifford told the paper.
Clifford said the children showed no sign they had done anything wrong. The 10-year-old was given a warning from police, but further punishment would be left to the family, he said.
"I'm sure granddad and grandma, if not mum and dad, might have their own little chastisement for them," Clifford told the paper.
He said he had no idea how the 10-year-old managed to see over the dashboard while operating the drive pedals.
"He wasn't an overly tall kid," Clifford said.