A woman claims she was fined $395 and lost three demerit points for giving a middle finger to a speed camera, but social media users argued it was for another clearly visible violation.
Victorian woman Abbey posted a photo taken in the south-east Melbourne suburb of Pakenham which captured her rude gesture and claimed she had been handed a huge fine for the act.
However, keen-eyed viewers suggested the fine was due to Abbey’s passenger wearing his seatbelt incorrectly, with the image showing the top strap placed under the arm rather than over the shoulder.
The fine in Victoria for illegally wearing a seat belt is $395 and the loss of three demerit points.
“I hope they gave the passenger the fine to pay,” one person said in the comments on the post.
Others expressed sympathy and admitted that they also “turned off” speed cameras when they saw them.
Abbey remains convinced that the fine was for the rude gesture and rules out the possibility that she was fined for the seat belt.
“He was definitely the butt of the joke,” he said. Yahoo News Australia.
A Victorian woman insists she was fined $395 for making a rude gesture at a speed camera
“I think it’s ridiculous that you lose three points for that plus $400.”
Despite his expressed indignation, he was not going to contest the fine and would also ask his passenger to pay half.
A spokesman for Victoria’s Department of Justice and Community Safety said no cameras were used to detect rude gestures and no fines were issued to motorists for such acts.
“Failure to properly wear a seat belt is extremely dangerous and can significantly increase the risk of serious injury in the event of a crash,” the spokesperson told Yahoo.
“Every driver has the obligation to do the right thing on the road and not put themselves or others at risk.”
Last year, Victoria installed high-tech road detection cameras that use artificial intelligence and high-definition lenses to catch drivers using mobile phones illegally or not wearing seatbelts properly.
Other states have also installed similar cameras.
New high-tech detection camera uses artificial intelligence and high-definition lenses to catch drivers and passengers committing illegal acts in vehicles
In their first year of operation, Victorian cameras caught 52,000 drivers and passengers committing offences relating to phone use and seat belt use.
A police spokesman said the figure was “shocking” as it amounted to 5,000 offences a month.
