KEY POINTS:
Two small children were found asleep in the boot of a vehicle pulled over by police for speeding.
It was one of two weekend cases where unrestrained children were found by Tauranga police in speeding cars.
Sergeant Lester Polglase said both vehicles were believed to be going faster than 125km/h on State Highway 29 at Te Maunga.
A four-wheel-drive carrying two children under 8 was stopped about 9pm on Saturday. The children, one believed to be a pre-schooler and the other aged between 5 and 8, were asleep in the boot.
In the second incident at 10pm on Sunday on the same road, a 1-year-old was found asleep in the rear luggage area of a station wagon or people-mover-type car. The baby had slipped down from the top of the luggage and was found behind the rear seat.
Mr Polglase said both families were from Auckland and were returning home after holidays.
"You've really got to wonder about someone with kids unrestrained like that. You've only got to lose control for a second, get tired or go off the road and hit the loose metal and you have to wake up - just like in the ads - that kid's going to be thrown around as you react."
In another case of poor judgment, two drivers in their 20s were stopped by police after driving nearly 3km on the wrong side of the road.
The two drove in convoy through Tauranga as they arrived home from Gisborne.
Police said as they drove on SH29 they came off the Maungatapu Bridge towards Maungatapu and the driver in front thought he was still on the multi-laned section of the road. He moved into the right lane and travelled 2.8km on the wrong side of the road, negotiating two blind corners and travelling up the "off" ramp and into oncoming traffic at the Maungatapu roundabout. His friend followed him.
- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES
