Driver fined for using phone while driving dragged after appealing for help getting out of it

A man busted for an illegal driving act has infuriated motorists with a photo and a desperate appeal for help.

A man busted for an illegal driving act has infuriated motorists with a photo and desperate appeal for help.

A man busted touching his phone while driving has riled up road users after appealing for advice on how he could get off paying the fine.

Rather than accept he was in the wrong, the man on Monday took to social media in what he hoped would get him closer to avoiding having to pay hundreds and cop demerit points.

In a post that included the black and white image taken by a mobile phone detection camera, the man asked members of a Facebook group if he could have his fine voided.

“I got fined for using my phone while driving but it was in a cradle mounted to the car. I was using Google maps for directions,” he explained.

He then proposed finding a way out of having to pay up.

“Does anyone with experience know if I have grounds for an appeal? Do you think there’s a possibility of this outcome being overturned?”

In the photo it was obvious he had his hand clasped around the device, leading dozens to believe he didn’t have a chance at getting out of the fine.

“Cradle or not your hand is clearly seen gripping the phone. I think this will be a tough one to get out of,” one comment read.

A man busted for an illegal driving act has infuriated motorists with a photo and desperate appeal for help.

Others pointed out it was permissible to touch a phone in a cradle, but only for the purposes of making or receiving a phone call, for audio playing functions, or to use a driver’s aid like navigation.

In this instance, it was hotly debated if the man was simply touching the phone or holding it.

“Is your hand the cradle?” one cheeky respondent asked.

“Clearly in your hand not in the cradle,” someone else said.

Many felt it was obvious the fine was warranted and the driver should suck it up and just pay.

“You got caught using your phone period. You can use all the excuses you like but at the end of the day using a phone while driving is dangerous and it puts not just yourself but other innocent people at risk,” a popular comment read.

There were a few, however, that thought if the driver really committed himself to the cause, he might be able to contest the fine.

“You can touch it in cradle but cannot hold it. So you can fight it,” one wrote.

“You have grounds to contest. You can use the phone for music, nav and calls, while in a cradle designed to hold the phone securely,” another argued.

Someone else was overly confident the man would win if he contested the fine.

“You’d be let off, just take it to court and explain you were stabilising your hand while pressing the answer button or whatever you were doing,” they wrote.

In NSW, the penalty for using your phone behind the wheel is five demerit points and $362.

Drivers in Victoria are hit with an on-the-spot fine of $484 and four demerit points, while in Queensland, the maximum penalty is $1078 and four demerit points.

Tasmanian drivers will cop a $344 fine and three demerit points, those in the Northern Territory $500 and three demerit points, and in Western Australia, it’s $1000 and four demerit points.

South Australians busted using the phone at the wheel incur a $534 fine plus a $60 victims of crime levy, on top of three demerit points, and those in the ACT are fined $498 and slapped with three demerit points.