'What a joke!' Driver cops $112 fine for breaking 'unbelievable' road rule
A shocked Sydney resident has revealed how she was slapped with a $112 fine for breaking a bizarre road rule she didn’t even know existed.
The woman, who lives in Caringbah South in the Sutherland Shire, said she received an infringement notice for leaving her car window down just after 7.40am on August 4.
“$112 fine for not shutting car windows, the car was parked on the street at my home and husband was working in garden in eye view of the car,” she wrote on Facebook.
“I never knew this was a crime so shut your windows.”
A photo of the penalty notice labels the offence as “not lock doors secure windows (vehicle unattended)”.
Regulation 213 sub-rule 5 of the NSW road rule book states a car must be secured when a driver is more than three metres away.
This includes closing the windows and locking the doors - although a window opening of less than 2cm is allowable.
The little-known rule - and the harsh penalty attached to it - left Facebook users in disbelief.
“What a joke!” One person said.
“Seriously?!” Another wrote. “Gosh Australia has really silly fines for everything.”
“Clearly revenue raising,” a woman said. “The officer should have issued a warning if you were present.”
Others slammed the rule as “ridiculous” and “unbelievable”.
Having your arm out the window could cost you $349
Another obscure road rule made headlines recently after the Northern Beaches Police Area Command, based on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, shared a special Facebook “memo” to drivers on their Facebook page.
They said drivers and passengers busted with their hand or “anything else” outside a window while the car was moving would find themselves in hot water.
Those busted wouldn’t just be hit with a fine of $349, but also three demerit points.
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