‘Risky behaviour’: Australian states with highest driving fines and strictest rules revealed

Australian motorists in one state are forking out more on fines and have stricter road rules than anywhere else in the country.

Motorists in Queensland are spending more on fines and have the strictest road rules than anywhere else in the country.

Experts at Budget Direct looked at data to identify which states or territories enforced the most costly fines for five types of driving offences.

They also analysed which jurisdiction served the most hard-hitting fines overall.

The Sunshine State had the most severe driving rules, scoring 77 out of a possible 100.

This was followed by Western Australia, Victoria, the ACT, South Australia, the Northern Territory and lastly, NSW, which had the least strict driving rules.

Queensland was also the state with the highest penalties for both driver distraction and mobile phone use.

Motorists in Queensland are spending more on fines and have the strictest road rules of any jurisdiction. Picture: Budget Direct

Those busted on their phones while behind the wheel were fined $1033, and $1000 if they were caught driving while distracted - this included eating, drinking, or changing the music.

All other states and territories had much lower penalties for distracted drivers.

For instance, in NSW and Tasmania, first offence fines for distracted drivers was $349 and $344 respectively.

NSW also had the lowest first offence fine for using a mobile phone while driving at $298.

ACT drivers were the ones copping the biggest fine for speeding at $1841 for first offences while drink drivers in Tasmania could expect to be fined up to $4200.

While South Australia ($1690) and Queensland ($1245) also dished out hefty fines for speeding.

Residents in Victoria receive the largest fine of any state for not wearing a seatbelt at $1450.

NSW had the least strict rules of all the jurisdictions. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

“It’s surprising to see such significant variation in the maximum possible first time offence fines across the country,” Budget Direct’s Jonathan Kerr said of the report.

“Particularly where the highest fine is three or four times higher than the lowest possible maximum in some areas.

“The impact that all of these offences can have is potentially severe, so it’s only right that states take appropriate measures to discourage drivers from engaging in these risky behaviours.”

In June this year, it was revealed that fines exploded in NSW since authorities stopped warning motorists about speed cameras.

From an average of 1634 fines handed out per month over a six-year period ending last year, NSW officials handed out more than 27,000 speeding tickets in a single month in 2021.

The NSW government backflipped on the policy in August and began warning drivers again.

Originally published as ‘Risky behaviour’: Australian states with highest driving fines and strictest rules revealed