Tourist devastated after being slapped with hefty ‘nonsense’ fine

There was little sympathy for a tourist who complained he was doing nothing wrong when he was slapped with a hefty fine.

A German tourist has revealed his horror after being slapped with a hefty fine for a lesser known driving offence described as “nonsense” by Aussies.

The driver, currently visiting Queensland, was issued a $1078 fine because his passenger was wearing her seatbelt incorrectly.

“Unfortunately I got a seatbelt fine of around $1000 because my passenger was wearing her seatbelt below her arm while sleeping,” he revealed in a post to Facebook.

The devastated visitor asked for opinions on whether he should challenge the charge in court, but was swiftly shut down.

“Would like to check what legal options I have now and if I would have any chance at court. Has anyone had a similar situation or has a contact for free legal advice?” he wrote.

Dozens quickly responded saying they thought he was unlikely to have any luck getting out of paying the fine.

Covert camera have been installed across Queensland with drivers receiving hefty fines if they or their passengers are caught not wearing their seatbelt correctly. Picture: 9 News

“You can’t get out of it. They take seatbelts seriously here in every state. Your friend wasn’t wearing hers correctly and there’s no way around it,” one scathing comment read.

“Don’t bother about going to court as if you are found guilty, the fine is higher, plus court costs,” another wrote.

“You can’t beat. It’s improper use of a seatbelt and will end up costing you three times as much if you take it to court,” a third said.

Others encouraged the man to come to an agreement with his passenger, given it was her that did the wrong thing.

“You could approach your passenger to pay for half. Would be fair,” one suggested.

“Make your friend pay for it as she was the one that caused the fine, or go halves because you should have said something,” another said.

One person encouraged the man to double down on not paying it, labelling the fine “bloody extortion”.

The man wanted to challenge the hefty fine in court, but was encouraged not to bother. Picture: Getty

“No way I would bend over and pay. It’s bloody extortion. Fight it all the way. She was wearing her seatbelt,” they wrote.

The penalty for not wearing a seatbelt was increased to $1078 and four demerit points from $413 on July 1.

The change came after almost 50,000 fines for mobile phone use or not wearing a seatbelt were distributed in just four months earlier this year after new covert cameras were installed across the state.

The new technology went live last July and began issuing fines in November.