Calls are growing for drivers issued fines for seatbelt offences in the nation’s capital to be refunded, after an “administrative oversight” recently came to light.
ACT government agency Access Canberra found that while fixed and mobile cameras were certified to detect mobile phone use, the legal documentation had never been updated to cover seatbelt offences, the ABC reported.
That’s now called into question the roughly 13,000 seatbelt fines handed to drivers since the Territory started using the system for seatbelt offences in November.
Already, some 6,500 motorists have paid their fines or had the matter resolved with Access Canberra.
The penalty for a driver failing to wear their seatbelt properly adjusted and fastened is $641 and 3 demerit points.
Josh Rynehart, head of Access Canberra, said the error was uncovered internally two weeks ago.
But he admitted it should have been addressed before fines were issued in the first place.
“The cameras are authorised for use as a traffic offence control device,” he told ABC Radio Canberra.
“It’s just that the disallowable instrument didn’t include the word seatbelt.”
Rynehart said infringements that had already been paid were considered settled, meaning the associated demerit points would still apply.
He said the issue centred on whether the evidence was admissible in court, rather than whether an offence had actually occurred.
As soon as the issue was found, Access Canberra halted seatbelt fines issued by the cameras.
Rynehart confirmed the problem had now been fixed, and infringements were being handed down again.
The Legislative Assembly will now consider retrospective legislation aimed at correcting the oversight and ensuring the affected fines remain valid.
Have you ever been unfairly fined? Contact newsroomau@yahoonews.com
6000 WA drivers have now successfully had their fines waived.
(Seatbelt Fines & Road Safety Commission/Getty)Should impacted drivers be refunded?
The bungle has prompted ACT Opposition Leader Mark Parton to call for a review into the seatbelt camera system.
“It puts the government in an extremely embarrassing and precarious situation,” he told the ABC.
“The Canberra Liberals are just examining all options and those options do include refunds.
“There is certainly a community expectation here that the government has monumentally stuffed up.”
Australia’s controversial use of enforcement cameras
The situation in Canberra comes amid growing debate over the use of road enforcement cameras across Australia.
In Western Australia, since the state’s new AI-driven cameras went live last year, thousands of drivers have complained that they have been unfairly penalised.
Almost 6,000 of the 81,000 fines issued of those were overturned following a review.
In Brisbane, motorists in parking enforcement hotspots are using increasingly creative tactics to evade a penalty on a new automatic parking detection system.
In the state, an audit also found Queensland’s rules around AI use on our roads are falling short.
The Queensland Audit Office found the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) hadn’t properly considered the risks of using artificial intelligence or kept a close enough eye on how the systems are running.
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