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Police shocked by driver's dangerous seatbelt modification

A motorist in South Australia has left police “shaking their heads” after they discovered a dangerous modification inside his vehicle.

The male driver, 23, was pulled over on the Ngarkat Highway south of Pinnaroo, near the border with Victoria, about 240 kilometres east of Adelaide, after he was spotted speeding at 117km/h in a 100 zone.

Officers then realised the driver wasn’t wearing his seatbelt and on closer inspection, noticed he had concealed the strap behind some plastic.

The seatbelt buckle was also positioned in the latch to ensure the car’s seatbelt alert didn’t activate while the driver sat behind the wheel.

The buckle without the strap (left) and the modified seatbelt hidden (right). Source: SA Police
The buckle without the strap (left) and the modified seatbelt hidden (right). Source: SA Police

The driver, from the state’s southeast, was fined for speeding and not wearing a seatbelt.

In SA, motorists face a $398 fine for speeding by more than 10km/h over the speed limit and receive a $381 for not wearing their seatbelt.

Both offences come with three demerit points each.

The company who owns the ute was also handed a fine while the car was defected.

South Australia Police shared images of the modifications on their Facebook page, prompting a wave of comments from users who scorned the driver’s actions.

“Why would you NOT want to wear a seat belt???” one person asked?

“That's bloody ridiculous!” another said.

Last year, police in NSW pulled over a motorist for their own bizarre modification which left the vehicle without a functioning driver’s seat.

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