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Driver furious after traffic camera snapped photo of his wife’s underwear and sent them a $1,078 seatbelt ticket because she reached out to adjust car sun visor
- The woman’s arm slipped momentarily from the seat belt.
- The traffic camera also took a photo of her underwear.
- She wants an apology for ‘indecent’ upskirt photography
A driver was fined $1,078 because his wife momentarily reached out and adjusted his visor and complained that the traffic camera took a picture of his underwear.
Anh Nyugen was in the passenger seat while her partner Richard Arnold was driving when she lowered her sun visor and her arm slipped out of the seat belt.
Mr. Arnold, as the driver, was shocked when he received a ticket, but the couple were even more distraught, and demand an apology, over the “indecent photograph” under Ms. Nyugen’s skirt.
He obtained two photos taken by still cameras on the M1 at Coomera, Gold Coast, at 5:21pm on December 19.
A Queensland couple is furious after being fined $1,078 for the passenger (pictured) who adjusted the visor after his arm slipped out of the seatbelt
The traffic camera also took a photo of Anh Nyugen’s underwear (in the photo, blurred on the right)
Ms. Nyugen, who is 152cm tall, had one foot on the dashboard of the Mitsubishi Triton pickup at the time the photo was taken.
Arnold, who is a retired aviation worker on a fixed income, was surprised to receive such a large ticket for the incident that he said lasted no more than two or three seconds.
“I don’t think it’s reasonable,” he told the mail. “If you drive your car, you can’t be checking on your passengers all the time to see if their seat belts are properly fastened.”
He also wants the Queensland government to apologize for the intrusive photography.
“You don’t expect pictures of your wife’s underwear to be sent to you, I have to say,” he said.
“It’s actually illegal, I think, to photograph a skirt. Covert photographic surveillance should not be used in such an insensitive and disrespectful manner.”
Mr Arnold is fighting the fine in court, despite fearing even more costs will be imposed on him.
Mr. Arnold (pictured left with his partner Anh Nyugen) is fighting the fine in court, despite fearing he may face even more costs.
He said that being on a fixed income, the $1,078 penalty is too high for him, after being forced into early retirement due to the pandemic.
Queensland The Department of Transport and Main Roads said the photos taken by the traffic cameras are “encrypted and securely stored” and are used “for enforcement purposes only.”
When tickets are issued, the images are not altered before they are included in the violation notice.
In the year to 31 October 2022, Queensland issued an average of 70 tickets per day for seat belt violations recorded on traffic cameras.
Most of the tickets were for seat belt violations by passengers, not drivers.