By CLEMMIE MOODIE - More by this author » Last updated at 23:30pm on 11th March 2007
At almost twice Britney Spears's age, Madonna should know better.
The 48-year-old singer has angered road safety groups by failing to use a seatbelt or booster seat for her adopted 17-month-old child – a year after Miss Spears was condemned for a similar offence.
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Madonna was photographed in a rear seat of a 4x4, holding Malawian-born David Banda on her lap.
The incident happened in Los Angeles, where Madonna and her film director husband Guy Ritchie had been attending a Kabbalah meeting.
A spokesman for the RAC said: "Not wearing a seatbelt in the back seat of a car is irresponsible.
"Having a child on your lap with no seatbelt is doubly irresponsible.
"Madonna is breaking the law and, worse, endangering a child's life."
Britney Spears came under fire for driving with her son on her lap
Madonna's action is illegal both in Britain and the US.
In Los Angeles it is compulsory for all children weighing less than 60lb or under six years of age to be secured in the back seat, with a child safety or booster seat.
By failing to use either a booster chair or a seatbelt, Madonna was guilty of two offences.
But she avoided a spot fine of $100 (around £60) because no police witnessed the incident.
Last year Miss Spears, 25, was seen carrying her then five-month-old son Sean Preston on her knee – while she was driving.
