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Transportation chief calls Britney 'irresponsible'

PHILADELPHIA - Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta called Britney Spears "irresponsible" for driving with her baby on her lap as he announced an initiative Monday to improve child car-seat safety.

"Recent photos of Britney Spears driving with her infant son on her lap are troubling. And while Ms. Spears has acknowledged her mistake, her actions still send the wrong message to millions of her fans," Mineta said at an event at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to mark the start of Child Passenger Safety Week.

Photos published this month showed Spears driving her sport-utility vehicle in Malibu, Calif., with her 4-month-old son, Sean Preston, perched on her lap. Spears said she acted instinctively when frightened by paparazzi.

The agency that took the picture, X17, issued a statement saying its photographer was doing nothing frightening.

Whatever the situation was, Mineta said, Spears didn't have a good reason for what she did.

"No matter who you are, there's absolutely no excuse for this display - not instinct, not fear, not even reckless paparazzi," Mineta said. "It's irresponsible to compromise the safety of a child for the sake of the moment."

Spears later told Access Hollywood that she made a mistake, "and so it is what it is, I guess."

But she still blamed the paparazzi.

"Being put in the situation that I was in, it was kind of bad with the paparazzi. Last week, my mom and I went out and they were on us really bad, so you instinctively do what you need to do."

[Last modified February 14, 2006, 02:45:31]