Geelong footballer Billie Smedts has come under fire for taking a 'selfie' while driving and sharing the picture with thousands of people on Instagram.
The picture shows Smedts, 21, snapping himself sitting at the wheel and was shared on Monday.
The picture, which has since been removed, was captioned: 'Driving back to warrnambool for Christmas!!! #goproselfie,'.
Caught out ... Billie Smedts' post on Instagram. Photo: Courtesy 3AW
The Transport Accident Commission and Victoria Police are in talks with the Geelong Football Club over the incident.
Very disappointed with the Smedt's selfie. Taking your eyes off the road for 2 seconds at 50km/h, you will travel 27mtrs, effectively blind
- TAC (@TACVictoria) December 23, 2013
Smedts may face fines and demerit points following an investigation, Road Policing Command Superintendent Neville Taylor said.
Smedts the footballer. Photo: Sebastian Costanzo
'This sends a really bad message to all road users, particularly young people, to think it is OK to do this kind of behaviour,' Superintendent Taylor said.
'It's not just police who think this is outrageous behaviour - I haven't spoken to the player as yet - but certainly we're very pleased with the response we've got (from the club) and an indication that they'll certainly be taking action about it.'
A Geelong Football Club press release circulated late Tuesday morning stated Smedts 'assured the club that the photo was in fact staged, and was he was stationary and not driving while the image was taken'.'Nonetheless the club and Smedts understand that the his actions did not send the correct message to the public,' the statement read.'I understand that in taking and posting this image that it sends a poor and irresponsible message and I'm sorry for causing that,' Smedts was quoted as saying.'Road safety is something that is critical and should be taken seriously at all times. Christmas time is a particularly vulnerable time of the year, and even though I wasn't driving at the time and it was a staged shot, people seeing the photo could have thought it was real and wanted to copy it. That would be dangerous and could easily cause an accident.'Cats CEO Brian Cook expressed his concern at the stunt.'We take road safety seriously and like many others are disappointed that this image was taken and posted,' Cook said.'We will continue to educate our players and staff on the importance of road safety. We will further discuss this matter, however it will not be concluded until our player leadership group and playing list returns in early January.'
No stranger to controversy, Smedts made headlines in April when he and Josh Caddy were arrested at gunpoint after a prank on teammate Jackson Thurlow went terribly wrong.
The pair had intended to scare Mr Thurlow by breaking into his house wearing balaclavas, but went to the wrong house first.
Neighbours reported an attempted burglary and the pair were intercepted at Kardinia Park, although no charges were laid.
Police launched Operation Crossroads in a national effort to prevent road deaths on Monday.
'We know this is the high risk behaviour that causes the loss of lives on the roads and that's why we wonder when we see this what would make someone think this OK,' Superintendent Taylor said.
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