Hundreds sign Ian Olsson’s petition for better quality photos for seatbelt and mobile phone fines

A Brisbane driver is gaining public traction after lodging a complaint about blurry photos being sent out with road fines.

A Brisbane driver, fined more than $1000 for a passenger’s seat belt infringement, has lodged a complaint with the state government about the poor quality of photographs issued with fines.

More than 600 people signed Runcorn pensioner Ian Olsson’s electronic petition calling for better quality photos to be sent with fines.

Mr Olsson, 74, wrote to Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) and lodged his petition after being sent a $1078 fine because a passenger in his car was photographed allegedly not wearing a seatbelt correctly.

He said his seatbelt infringement notice contained small images that were unclear and of poor quality and asked for “evidentiary quality” photos to be sent or links to images that could be downloaded in JPG or similar digital formats.

Within days, 616 signatures were on his petition.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said Mr Olsson’s claims were factually incorrect.

“People who break the rules are provided with high resolution images which they are able to access when they receive an infringement notice,” Mr Bailey said.

“The road rules are clear, and we’ve done an extensive education campaign on the penalty which started on July 1 this year.

“My message to people is – if you don’t want a fine, don’t break the rules.

“Mr Olsson himself has admitted his passenger wasn’t wearing their seatbelt correctly.

“The rules on wearing seatbelts are clear and I’d remind people to make sure they are wearing their seatbelts correctly.

“The seatbelt and mobile phone cameras used on our roads are high quality, using the latest technology, and all infringements are checked by two people before they are sent out.”

Seatbelt and mobile phone fines doubled from $400 last year following the July 2021 introduction of new seatbelt detection and distraction cameras designed to improve road safety across Queensland.

A Brisbane driver, fined more than $1000 for a passenger’s seat belt infringement, has lodged a complaint with the state government about the poor quality of photographs issued with fines. More than 600 people signed Runcorn pensioner Ian Olsson’s e-petition calling for better quality photos to be sent with fines. Picture: Supplied

New laws designed to prevent drivers being distracted by their mobile phones came into force shortly after, but an initial grace period meant many motorists were not fined.

Since then, the state has raked in more than $100 million in revenue.

Although he said he would pay, Mr Olsson said the road rules under section 264A of the Transport Operations Regulation 2009 were ambiguous about wearing a seatbelt under the arm and did not mention four demerit points as part of the penalty.

He said he wanted Transport Minister Mark Bailey to instruct that all images be sent to the vehicle owner with fines.

“This is hard for a pensioner,” Mr Olsson said.

“The new fines of $1078 for a seatbelt offence, should accommodate the cost of A4 images of evidentiary quality being sent out to vehicle owners.

“Detailed images provided after lodging the petition showed my passenger was firmly adjusted and fastened wearing the seatbelt with sash over the torso but under the left arm.”

A Brisbane driver, fined more than $1000 for a passenger’s seat belt infringement, has lodged a complaint with the state government about the poor quality of photographs issued with fines. More than 600 people signed Runcorn pensioner Ian Olsson’s e-petition calling for better quality photos to be sent with fines.

Mr Olsson said he was a stickler for wearing seat belts correctly.

“As a child of the Snowy Mountains, which introduced seatbelts before anywhere else in Australia, I am a stickler for wearing seat belts properly,” he said.

“I take full responsibility for my lapse in not ensuring my passenger wore the sash of the seatbelt over the left arm.

“All drivers should check passengers are wearing seat belts properly.”

The infringement notice said the TMR used higher quality images for processing and evidentiary purposes and all money raised from the fines went into promoting road safety and the Camera Detected Offence Program.

The photograph image quality was very high and the cameras were rarely wrong, according to the TMR.

The cameras pick up if an offence has been committed and images are sent to two different authorised officers to sign off on, before fines are issued.

Runcorn pensioner Ian Olsson said Queensland’s road rules under section 264A of the Transport Operations Regulation 2009 were ambiguous about wearing a seatbelt under the arm and did not mention four demerit points as part of the penalty. Picture: Supplied

Motorists could view high definition photos of offences online, following the links on infringement notices.

But Mr Olsson said the online photos of his car were blurry, were not in high definition and had to be rotated on screen to see details.

He said the photo online could not be downloaded.

In the first six months, the cameras have caught more than 100,000 people who have been fined for using phones while driving and more than 35,000 drivers or passengers for not wearing seatbelts.

Drivers who fail to ensure a passenger older than 16 is wearing a seat belt properly adjusted and fastened can be fined $1078 and lose four demerit points.

It is the same fine for those photographed driving while using a mobile phone.

Police statistics showed 193 people have died on the state’s roads so far this year, compared to 178 at the same time last year.