An Aussie woman is warning the public about how a simple seatbelt mistake (that I bet we’ve all made) cost her $1000 in fines from Queensland Police. And she wasn’t even driving.
Hailey Gillard (@haileygillard1
) took to TikTok to recount the shock of receiving a massive fine in the mail with a “mugshot” of herself when she didn’t even realise she’d done anything wrong.
“If you’re having a bad day, at least it’s not as bad as mine,” she began.
“I just got fined $1000 for ‘wearing my seatbelt incorrectly'”.
She then pulled up the letter, which included a dramatic black-and-white picture seemingly taken from a roadside camera of herself in the passenger seat of a car. The receipts!!
“My seatbelt was underneath my arm because I was a bit carsick so I had to lean over,” Hailey explained.
She was carsick! Honestly, who among us hasn’t put their seatbelt under their arm momentarily to relieve the pressure on their tummy? Or to reach for something lost underfoot? But apparently, that’s all it takes to cop a huge fine.
“My daughter as a passenger dropped my purse and bent down to pick it up,” one TikTok user revealed in the comments.
Others shared their shock at how hefty the fine was.
“You get fined less for drink driving. That’s ridiculous,” a user commented.
“I got six demerits for the same thing, about $400,” said another.
A third said they were actually caught speeding and yet they were still fined less, at around $300.
Hailey revealed in a follow-up video that the fine was also accompanied by the docking of four demerit points.
“It was a bit of a shock because I was in the passenger seat as you can see in my ‘mugshot photo’.
“I still have my seatbelt on but because my arm was over it, it was still $1000 and four points.
“Be really careful on the roads, even if you’re wearing a seatbelt — wear it properly,” she warned.
“Don’t do what I did and get a fine”.
Safety first kids, or you’ll be paying for it — literally.
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