Rear Seat Passengers Failed to Wear Seatbelts Even after Being Told to Wear It

Taro Milk Tea on 23/04/2019 - 11:16
Last edited 23/04/2019 - 12:13

Unfortunate thing happened to a mate of mine who were taking his friends, from overseas, for a holiday to Blue MOuntain.

The happy trip was stopped by RBT and the cop saw the rear seat passengers did not wear their seatbelt (idiots!!)

My mate told the cop that he has told them to wear the seatbelts when they enter the car,which they did put it on..but apparently they ignored the advice along the trip and took it off again.
Cop did not care about that and fined him $1600 and suspension of his driving license…which is a bugger for him as he drives Uber for living!

Now, I know that it's the driver's responsibility to ensure their passengers wear their seatbelts, which in this case, my mate has done so.
My understanding, if the passengers have been reminded but still do not use it, shouldn't the cop fine the passengers not the driver?

I tried to find the regulation about this, but didn't find anything. Maybe I have been incorrectly informed about the existence of that rule..so spare me here.

Anyone has an opinion of this matter?

Automotive

Comments

    • StickMan on 24/04/2019 - 10:16

      For reference, in QLD, the points are valid immediately at time of issue. Time of payment is irrelevant.

      MAJOR aspect to be aware of when disputing fines.

  • boab88 on 24/04/2019 - 07:42
    -2

    The "I was concentrating on the road so didn't notice" narrative falls down when it became 3 passengers, all of them removed the belt and the driver was oblivious? All of them disregarded instructions given at the start of the journey?

    Sounds allot like he didn't insist when they got into the car and they were not aware it was required and no seatbelts were worn from start untill stop.

    Sucks for the driver, fine is deserved but points are unfortunate. Still might as well be honest about what actually happened.

  • Mechanist on 24/04/2019 - 08:20
    +3

    Annoying, In Ireland you are responsible for your own seatbelt. Nothing to do with the driver and thats how it should be.

    • OzzyOzbourne on 24/04/2019 - 15:06
      +3

      In Australia, people are not responsible for their actions

  • spriggan43 on 24/04/2019 - 08:41

    Can he take it to court and ask a judge to you know judge it?

  • wtfnodeal on 24/04/2019 - 08:41

    Should have some sort of child lock mechanism for seatbelts controlled by the driver. Once buckled up cannot be unbuckled if the driver doesn't press the release button etc.

    • djprima on 24/04/2019 - 09:06
      +3

      That's not really safe if the driver passed out and the car is on fire…

      • tempura on 24/04/2019 - 09:39

        Been watching too much 911

        • djprima on 24/04/2019 - 09:43
          +1

          And I'm sure a kidnapper would love that feature

      • wtfnodeal on 24/04/2019 - 10:23

        So as Child lock on the doors? You know a passenger can squeeze out of a seatbelt without unbuckling it but takes longer and driver will definitely notice it.

    • Taro Milk Tea on 24/04/2019 - 10:24

      Should have some sort of child lock mechanism for seatbelts controlled by the driver. Once buckled up cannot be unbuckled if the driver doesn't press the release button etc.

      Might as well build an eye scanner to unlock the seatbelts

      • wtfnodeal on 24/04/2019 - 10:40

        Yeah you can upgrade your cruise control, central lock, push start button to eye scanner

  • luffyex2010 on 24/04/2019 - 09:21

    Omg….what a good reminder for the family

  • alxr0101 on 24/04/2019 - 09:45
    +1

    And when idiot passengers fly through the windscreen and end up crippled or hospital for months, they get to avail themselves of the vehicle owner's 3rd party personal insurance.

  • hooyn on 24/04/2019 - 10:02
    -1

    always happens to a mate

  • zond on 24/04/2019 - 10:48
    +4

    Happenned to one of my friend who was driving Uber and asked the passengers to wear seatbelts. The passengers did initially but took off and police stopped and got the friend fine + demerit points.
    My friends contested the fine/ points in the court, the judge asked my friends did you tell them to wear the belts, he said he did. Then the judge asked the police did they fine the passengers? The police officer said he didn't. The judge shook his head and rebuked the police as he didn't fine the offending adults. Case dismissed in favour of my friend.

    No matter what OZBargainer Professional Lawyers says - go for court and present your case in nice manner. Your mate may get reimbursed the fine from his friends but losing points and losing license cannot be reimbursed.

  • BradH13 on 24/04/2019 - 15:58

    My cousin lost his drivers license whilst sitting in the passenger seat asleep here in South Australia for not wearing his seatbelt (ran out of demerit points). His dad also got fined a demerited, who was driving.

    It seems rough, but I think it's kinda fair. Should be everyone's responsibility.

  • T1OOO on 24/04/2019 - 16:53
    +1

    car dont go till it on
    car stops when its off

    end of story.

  • j0hnd0e on 24/04/2019 - 17:27
    -1

    Don't seatbelts make a loud click when fastened/unfastened? How is it that your mate didn't hear that click, 3 times?

    • iSamurai on 25/04/2019 - 04:54

      Unbuckling is a lot quieter than buckling the seatbelt.

      • j0hnd0e on 25/04/2019 - 05:19

        With my music playing at a decent level i can still clearly hear the seatbelt being un-fastened. If you say once, yeah maybe he could've missed it but three times, quite unlikely imo.

  • 82norm on 24/04/2019 - 19:43
    +1

    I would thought most cars have a seat belt warning light and if removed, it would then show up on the dashboard. Any car of around 10 yrs of age would have this feature. If your friend is a Uber driver, and from memory the cars cannot be older than 5-7 yrs old, it would have this ? Feel sorry for your friend, but ultimately it was his responsibility. If they refused him a couple of times and thought it was a joke, I would have kicked them out of the car and they could find their own way to the mountains or home. Imagine if he’d been in an accident and they were injured or killed?

  • Trying2SaveABuck on 24/04/2019 - 20:50

    Drivers responsible for it. But his 'mate' should pay the fine if he is a half decent bloke…

  • justwii on 24/04/2019 - 23:53

    See cars in the future won't even move if not all seat belts are buckled up.

  • Aerith-Waifu on 25/04/2019 - 01:06

    What happens if I am an Uber driver and my passengers dont put on the seat belts?

    Who is responsible then?

    • j0hnd0e on 25/04/2019 - 05:15
      +1

      You are. If they don't put on, don't drive.

  • myusername on 25/04/2019 - 07:54
    +1

    driver is responsible.

    similar thing happened to me years ago.

    had just purchased a soft top 4wd was driving it home after purchase with a couple of mates.

    one of the geniuses decided to sit in the back part, well not sit decided to stand up in the back part of the vehicle.

    cops pull us over, officer ripped into me for not being responsible for my mate. i called my mate a f…en d…head.

    cop was a little shocked at my outburst looked at me and said, ok then and gave my mate a ticket and told me to choose smarter friends.

  • shaybisc on 25/04/2019 - 09:37

    The law or regulation needs rewriting so than an adult passenger is responsible for their own actions, not the driver, who has no way of guaranteeing that rear seat passengers keep their seat belts on at all times.

    • pangwen on 25/04/2019 - 10:14

      The law (at least in QLD) is that both the driver AND the passenger are both responsible (unless the passenger is under 16, in which case only the driver is responsible). Both will get fined if the passenger fails to wear a seat belt.

      Probably to give force to "safety is everyone's responsibility", and means that both parties have an incentive to make sure that the passenger is wearing a seat belt.

  • bobolo on 25/04/2019 - 13:52

    Is it illegal if the driver or the passenger took off their seatbelt whilst the car was stationary for the RBT only?

    That's what I would have said in an attempt to be let off.

    • pegaxs on 25/04/2019 - 14:09

      (3) The driver of a motor vehicle (except a bus or taxi) that is moving, or that is stationary but not parked, must ensure that each passenger in or on the vehicle who is 16 years old or older complies with subrule (2), unless the passenger is exempt from wearing a seatbelt under rule 267.

      If the vehicle is “stationary” and “parked” then they could remove their belts. The question should be, is stopping at an RBT site considered as parking?

  • Kozhutki on 25/04/2019 - 18:06

    Wow a $1600 fine. Is that normal for this type of law breakage? That's a significant amount of money.

  • dylan123 on 25/04/2019 - 19:33

    Has it always been a case of the driver being a fault if a passenger is caught without a seatbelt on? I was sure that if they were over the age of 18 and had made the decision to not wear a seatbelt, it was the passenger who would be fined and not the driver.

    Just checked and did see the driver is at fault so not sure if that's always been the case and I thought otherwise the entire time or if that had changed.

  • cybapete on 29/04/2019 - 17:08

    this might shatter the friendship (if that hasn't happened already) but could your friend sue the passenger for not wearing the seatbelt after they were told to?

    might get the fine back in a settlement anyway the points will be harder

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