An outraged motorist has claimed he was fined $410 after his passenger was falsely accused of not wearing his seat belt properly.
The driver was issued a fine by Transport for NSW explaining that a detection camera had recorded his passenger wearing the seat belt incorrectly.
But the man insists the photos are of poor quality and do not prove the violation.
“My friend was wearing a seatbelt,” he said Yahoo.
‘Yet I still received a fine order. I appealed and it was denied.”
The camera’s photos look grainy, making it difficult to determine whether the passenger is properly wearing their seat belt over their shoulder or otherwise.
The driver said he chose to pay the fine because fighting it wasn’t worth jeopardizing his visa or citizenship applications.
Transport for NSW said artificial intelligence is first used to assess the images before they go through “various stages of human assessment”.
The man insists that the photos taken by the cameras are of terrible quality and do not prove the violation.
NSW introduced the new roadside cameras earlier this year. In their first three weeks of operation, they issued nearly 11,500 fines.
The cameras are designed to detect if drivers are using their phone, wearing their seat belt incorrectly, or not using their seat belt at all.
Drivers are responsible for ensuring that their passengers wear their seat belts correctly. If not, they could be hit with a $410 fine and three demerit points.
They can view the images of their alleged offense online and apply for a review by Revenue NSW, or take the matter to court.
The driver is not the first to complain about exorbitant fines handed out to people caught wearing their seat belts incorrectly.
NSW woman Alice Brennan said she was fined $410 after she was caught making a minor mistake while as a passenger in a car.
“I just got fined $410 for WEARING my seat belt SO TEMPORARILY. That’s not right, is it?’ Ms Brennan wrote on LinkedIn.
In one photo, Ms. Brennan sat in the front seat with her seat belt diagonally across her stomach, instead of the standard over-the-shoulder position.
Social media users sympathized with Ms Brennan and condemned the fine.
‘That’s completely ridiculous! Appeal if you can!’ another wrote.