An angry driver is fined $1,033 for using a cellphone – but she says it’s just a shadow on her lap
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A frustrated driver claims she was wrongly fined $1,033 for using her phone while driving after traffic cameras mistook a shadow on her lap for her cellphone. Tracey, 33, a woman from New South Wales, was driving from Noosa to Brisbane in January when she was snapped on camera.
Only on Tuesday, after returning from a trip abroad, did she find the notice of infringement, on which she also received four minus points, and said it must have been a “typo”. “When I opened it and saw the amount before I even saw what it was for, I almost had a little heart attack,” she told Yahoo News.
She added: “The evidence they provided was a photo of me driving with two hands on the wheel and three shadows on my body, leading them to conclude that at least one of them was a phone.”
Tracey said she was traveling with a friend at the time and claims the passenger used her cellphone for directions while her phone was “either in the center console or in my pocket”. She also argued that the size and length of the shadow didn’t match her phone’s shape and the photo shows both of her hands on the wheel. “I’m a little shocked,” Tracey wrote on Facebook. “I would like to contest it as the photo is based on shadows, not actual footage from a phone. That would also mean I had three phones with me since there were three shadows?’
After sharing the fine (pictured) online, commenters agreed with Tracey that the “phone” in the photo looked like a shadow. The 33-year-old is now hoping more conclusive footage can be made available to prove she didn’t have her phone with her.
“We were eating snacks at the time, so I think it was a chocolate bar, but with black and white you can’t tell the color of the wrapper,” she told the publication. If you want to challenge a fine, you can view a high-resolution image online or go to court.
According to the Queensland Government, it is illegal “to have a mobile phone in your hand while driving or to have it on any part of your body, such as your head. B. your lap to store. This also applies when you are stuck in traffic. “The phone does not have to be on or in use for it to be a criminal offense.” (File photo of a motorist driving with a phone in hand).
