Fine for not wearing seatbelt correctly higher than many fines handed out by courts

In dollar terms, it’s about the most expensive mistake you can make on the road without causing an accident. Here’s what it can mean for struggling families.

It’s interesting, and sometimes a little frightening, to read about some of the hair-raising behaviour Gold Coast drivers are accused of when they appear before court in Southport.

Consider the following cases.

Recently the Magistrates Court heard how a driver who blew 0.155 was said to be so drunk when he crashed his car on the M1 at Pimpama that he did not recall what had happened, calling police in Coomera days later to ask them to fill him in.

He was fined $750 and disqualified from driving for six months.

On February 7 the court heard that a hungover motorbike rider was still drunk when he crashed his new bike into another rider. The L-plater returned a positive breath test, blowing 0.60.

He was fined $350 and disqualified from driving for one month.

Then there was the chap who was more than five times the alcohol limit and driving dangerously when he totalled his convertible in a crash on the Southport Nerang Rd that left him in a coma.

He was fined $1000 and disqualified from driving for 12 months.

And there was the guy who appeared in court last week after attacking a 67-year-old following a minor collision on Main Beach Pde, elbowing him in the head from behind and knocking him to the ground.

He was fined $500 and ordered to pay $500 compensation to his victim.

Four unsettling incidents. Four fines of $350, $500, $750 and $1000.

Department of Main Roads image of a passenger with his seatbelt under his arm.

Now consider this. On the same days that all of these incidents happened, multiple people on the Gold Coast will have received fines of $1078 for another traffic offence.

Not for drink driving or road rage or any other such offence. For driving a car with a front seat passenger photographed not wearing their seatbelt correctly.

It doesn’t seem right, does it?

Failure to wear a seatbelt correctly is in itself highly dangerous, as any paramedic who is a veteran of dealing with fatal crashes can tell you.

It can literally mean the difference between life and death in the event of a collision. But even so, the fines seem enormous, especially when set against the fines dished out for the egregiously dangerous behaviour detailed above.

Part of the reason for the difference, of course, is that courts can take various mitigating factors into account, whereas less nuance is at play when fines are spat out by a machine.

This also means these fines are somewhat inequitable. As my colleague Paul Weston reported yesterday, among those receiving the fines are people recently made homeless amid the rental crisis.

Such people receive the same penalty as a multi-millionaire, although the effect on both is clearly very different. It’s an issue that has caused some concern in the charity sector, with a worker recently telling this column that receiving so big a fine can cause devastation in families already doing it tough.

Department of Main Roads image of a young person not wearing his seatbelt correctly.

The state government, of course, has no means to assess someone’s income when issuing fines.

But it seems not enough consideration has been given to the effect on people on low incomes by setting fines for incorrectly wearing a seatbelt at such a high level. People absolutely need to be taught a lesson if they are caught doing the wrong thing on the roads. There is no other option when the road toll is so high.

But jumping straight to $1078 seems excessive. There are double demerits if you are caught again within 12 months, but this column can never understand why a graduated approach to fines is not also used. Fine people $1078 by all means – if it’s their second or third offence. But the first fine should be a fraction of that number.

Everyone should get a chance to correct their behaviour before jumping to a punishment so harsh.

Magistrates frequently apply that principle, noting prior offences – or a lack of them – when deciding on penalties.

The state government should consider a similar approach when handing out fines for offences detected by traffic cameras.

Follow @keithjwoods