Father fined $2,156 after his 13-year-old daughter made the same seatbelt mistake twice in two weeks
- Vader faces $2,156 in fines
- Daughter was wearing seatbelt incorrectly
A father is shocked after he was fined a huge fine because his daughter wore her seatbelt incorrectly not once, but twice in two weeks.
The Gold Coast man’s 13-year-old daughter cost her father $2,156 after she was twice caught wearing her seatbelt below her shoulder while traveling as a passenger in his car.
The father received two fines in the mail — $1,078 each and four demerit points — showing that his daughter had misused the seat belt twice within two weeks.
According to the Queensland Government, seat belts must be worn with the belt over the shoulder, across the chest, and fastened low on the hip.
A Gold Coast man was paid $2,156 after cameras caught his daughter wearing her seatbelt incorrectly twice within two weeks
Wearing the seat belt in any other way is punishable by law, regardless of where someone sits in the car.
In a social media post, the man claimed he couldn’t see his daughter’s seatbelt from the driver’s seat and questioned whether it was worth taking the matter to court.
“I have just received two $1078 fines plus a total of 8 demerit points just 2 weeks apart for my 13-year-old daughter not wearing her seat belt properly,” he wrote.
“I had no idea she was wearing it that way because it can’t be seen from the driver’s point of view.”
He also asked if there was “any chance of somehow reducing the fine,” which rose from $413 to $1,078 on July 1 last year.
The QLD law requires seat belts to be worn with the belt over the shoulder, across the chest, and buckled low at the hip
The father shared two photos of his daughter, captured by mobile traffic cameras, taken two weeks apart on the same road in March.
Despite his desperate cry for help, there was little sympathy on Facebook for the man and his teenage daughter.
Many claimed that both should have been aware of the traffic rules.
‘As a driver you are responsible for everyone in the car. Maybe you should be firm with your daughter. Welcome to reality,” read one comment.
Queensland’s new generation of traffic cameras are designed to both detect if a driver is wearing a seatbelt and use their mobile phone (stock image)
“She is old enough to know how to wear a seatbelt, just give her the fines she has to pay and she will wear it properly from then on,” said another.
Another said the couple could learn from the experience and “solve the problem for next time before your daughter flies out of the car in a crash.”
Rolling out in November 2021, Queensland’s new generation of traffic cameras are designed to detect whether a driver is wearing a seatbelt as well as using their mobile phone.
In its first year of operation, the cameras caught 467 drivers violating both laws at the same time.
Drivers caught without a seatbelt and using their phone while driving can expect a fine of $2,156.