Driver's $410 fine overturned after claiming camera caught him holding 'empty phone case'
Despite his seemingly tenuous argument, the NSW motorist had more success than most when challenging his fine.
A lucky driver has seen his $410 fine and 10 demerit points dropped after he claimed the item caught in his hand by a roadside camera could have been a number of things, not just a phone.
The man was driving his wife's car along the Hume Highway in NSW, returning to Sydney from Mittagong where he had been working, when a mobile detection camera snapped him clearly holding something behind the wheel on April 28.
A few weeks later he received the infringement in the post and pushed back against it, claiming he doesn't ever use his phone in the car and instead, the item could easily be something else entirely. He issued an appeal to Revenue NSW with a remarkably undefined retort.
"I got that fine and told them that may not be my phone, it looks like an empty case," he told Yahoo News. "It could be my keys, my work diary, my battery pack or my empty phone case."
Driver says roadside camera fine 'extremely harsh'
The driver believes the fine, which was issued on a double demerit weekend close to Anzac Day, was "extremely harsh" and claims authorities weren't in a position to enforce the infringement since he himself didn't know what it was.
"If I'm not sure how can they be? And a fine should be left for what it's meant [for], as in using a phone, not stopping something from slipping off the console."
The driver claims he always uses his Apple watch to send and receive messages and keeps his phone firmly in a cradle. "I use my watch to answer calls so I don’t have to touch my phone anytime," he said.
After submitting an appeal, the driver said the infringement was revoked. Yahoo News reached out to Revenue NSW for comment with a spokesperson saying it could not comment on specific cases.
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The driver said he was "never worried" his claim wouldn't be accepted and the infringement be dropped, saying he would have taken it further if necessary.
"They looked at it and dropped it... I was never worried. [I] would take that to court and still want to know why I can wear a watch that makes calls, and can send and receive texts, but a phone that is easier to see can take your licence off you by touching it," he said.
According to data collected by Finder, In NSW there were 191 casualties between 2012-2019 involving a driver or rider using a handheld mobile phone.
Other drivers fined for holding items they claimed were not a phone
Other drivers who claim they were wrongly accused of holding a phone behind the wheel haven't been as fortunate, with some having to simply cop the fine despite their appeals to Revenue NSW.
In June motorist Ms Lee claims she was holding her sunglasses case when a mobile phone detection camera snapped her along the Hume Highway near Sutton Forest. However, she still had to pay the $387 fine as her appeal was rejected.
Others, such as a woman who was issued an infringement for holding a child's toy in her hand and a man for holding his wallet, also faced fines after being detected by cameras and denied in their protestations.
According to data made public by the NSW state government, its camera enforcement program typically issues about 13,000 to 15,000 fines a month, bringing in more than $6 million in revenue each month.
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