Increased Driving Fines

Queensland increases fines for driving offences

If you get caught speeding, driving without a seatbelt or running a red light in Queensland, you’re now looking at a larger fine effective from July 1, 2022. After switching on phone detection cameras permanently last year which also scan cars for occupants not wearing a seatbelt, the Queensland Government has more than doubled the penalty for front-seat occupants caught not belting up. Instead of a $413 fine and three demerit points, offenders will now be fined $1078 and four demerit points. That essentially aligns it with the $1033 penalty for using a mobile phone while driving in Queensland. You’ll still get three demerit points for running a red, but the fine has been increased from $413 to $575. The Government is also increasing penalties for speeding. There’ll be a $287 fine for exceeding the speed limit by between 1-10km/h, though it’ll still be a single demerit point. It’s currently $183 and the bracket is up to 12km/h. In the first four months of the new mobile phone and seatbelt detection cameras going live, almost 14,000 seatbelt offences were recorded. “We’ve been educating drivers on the importance of seatbelts for 50 years, but somehow the message didn’t get through to almost 14,000 people, so it’s time to get tough,” said Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey.

Haha Steven’s Stinger with new signwriting. The Queensland Government says “every cent” collected from the fines will be reinvested into road safety, citing $1.7 billion spent so far this year in road safety upgrades, improved driver education, and other initiatives to make school zones safer and develop policies to reduce road crashes and trauma. The changes in penalties are part of the new Queensland Road Safety Strategy 2022-31 announced yesterday, with a vision to having zero road deaths and serious injuries by 2050.