Teen driver cries foul over vape mix up on the Gold Coast

A young Queensland woman will fight a traffic infringement in court claiming a photo of the alleged offence missed one crucial detail.

A young Queensland woman’s driver’s licence could go up in smoke – or vapour – over what she claims is a traffic infringement mix-up.

Nineteen-year-old Brisbane woman Lillian Morrow was snapped by a covert traffic camera on the M1 near the Gold Coast in August with her hand near her head. Her ear and what’s in her hand are cut out of vision by the car’s roof.

She was slapped with a $1078 fine and a penalty of four demerit points – meaning she could lose her licence if the notice is not successfully contested as she is on red P plates.

Lillian Morrow from Brisbane faces the prospect of losing her licence. Picture: Facebook.

But Ms Morrow has elected not to cop the fine but rather put the matter in front of a Magistrate.

Her case? She was “quite clearly holding my vape and my phone is on the passenger seat”.

Her infringement photos do appear to show a phone on the seat next to her.

Lillian Morrow shared her infringement on Facebook, claiming her phone is by her side (bottom right). Picture: Supplied

“I elected for the matter to be heard in court almost a month ago,” she declared on a Facebook page.

Her post sparked robust debate among the page members.

One legally minded observer commented: The fact that people on here can’t agree on what it actually is, is proof enough in itself it should be thrown out.”

“No matter who has the burden of proof, it certainly can’t be beyond reasonable doubt,” they continued.

Ms Morrow’s turmoil caught the eye of A Current Affair, which ran her story on Tuesday.

“It’s so ridiculously clear I’m not on my phone,” she told the program.

Lillian Morrow claims she was holding a vape – not on the phone. Picture: A Current Affair

“I’m quite confident that I would have been holding a vape, just having an itch, as you do, driving along.

“On the passenger seat though you can so clearly see my phone sitting there.”

Queensland’s Department of Main Roads switched on the hi-tech cameras aimed at targeting seatbelt and mobile phone use in July 2021 with an immediate impact.

The cameras reportedly nabbed over 400 drivers – who were issued warnings – in its first day of operation.

Earlier this month, the department spoke of the camera’s reliability in a Courier Mail report.

The cameras were rolled out in 2021 as Queensland recorded its highest road toll in eight years. Picture: Supplied

The cameras have nabbed over 80,000 drivers. Picture: Supplied.

“The camera’s images are filtered by artificial intelligence (AI) software,” a spokesperson said.

“If a possible offence is detected, the image is reviewed by an authorised TMR officer to determine if an offence has been committed.”

The new technology has caught out over 80,000 drivers on Queensland roads.

But Ms Morrow is determined not to be another.

“Straight up, I saw the photo, and I thought, ‘I’m taking this to court,” she said.