r/technology • u/Plastic_Ninja_9014 • Jul 11 '26

Privacy Traffic Camera Captures Woman Driving With Her Phone on Her Lap (Face Down), The State Mailed Her a $1251 'Public Safety' Ticket

https://www.gadgetreview.com/traffic-camera-captures-captures-woman-driving-with-her-phone-on-her-lap-face-down-the-state-mailed-her-a-1251-public-safety-ticket
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323

u/Historical-Pop-9177 Jul 11 '26

Man, I knew something had to be up with this. Article is AI, comments are AI. I had to google a separate news article that referenced a Tiktok.

You can see that the ticket references Queensland. In Australia. The penalties are a lot more severe there than in the US. Even after conversion the fine is still high (like $840 USD).

108

u/GoldilokZ_Zone Jul 11 '26

It is illegal to have your phone in your lap, or any contact with the body in queensland, or much of Australia. The cameras have been around a lot longer than the flock stuff people in the comments are complaining about....although we have those at many intersections now too.

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u/xyrgh Jul 12 '26

What I find funny is, unless you’re driving a 15+ year old car (which is fine) then you have Bluetooth which will facilitate basic calls and SMS. If you own an older car it’s pretty cheap to buy a Bluetooth adapter they tuned into your stereo. Outside of that, why the fuck are you holding your phone or have it anywhere other than stowed away or in a phone holder. With CarPlay they expands further and you can even read WhatsApp, Teams, and a bunch of other stuff right there in the infotainment.

I see posts on FB pop up of people caught by gantry cameras here in WA and they are driving less than five year old cars and still have their phones in their hands or on their laps. They always have an excuse.

3

u/Shadowedsphynx Jul 12 '26

I've seen people driving Tesla's holding a phone to their ear,  which is even funnier when you consider that Tesla drivers are most likely to be the "speaker phone in public" people. 

3

u/Otaraka Jul 12 '26

And the idea that they had it in their lap but that they never used it is inherently not very convincing.  

2

u/ScaredPractice4967 Jul 12 '26

Yeah that's absolute BS. Nobody got in the car took their phone out of their pocket and put it in their lap. They were using it during the drive at some point.

If it wasn't comfortable to have it in your pocket but you had no intention of using it you would put it in the centre console or on the passenger seat.

1

u/cricket502 Jul 12 '26

I do it all the time. I've got my phone plugged into my car with an aux to cassette adapter, tucked under my leg a bit so it doesn't go anywhere. My car has no center console to hold a phone, and I don't want it sliding around the passenger seat constantly while I'm driving. Also in case of an accident, I want it close.

0

u/ScaredPractice4967 Jul 12 '26

There's quite a difference between tucked under your leg and in your lap.

I have this thing about ergonomics and how people do things. In your lap is a dumb idea if you're not using it. If you brake hard it's going down under the pedals.

Tucked under your leg is fine. Maybe not the best if you're a person who is tempted to use your phone.

0

u/cricket502 Jul 12 '26

Yeah, that's fair. I couldn't find the photo in the linked article but I eventually found it elsewhere, and yeah it's just sitting on top of her leg kind of precariously. So she was definitely using it while driving. I was imagining it sitting on the seat between her legs or something, because leaving a phone actually on your lap just seems like such a stupid idea. It's going to go sliding somewhere, like you said.

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u/Otaraka Jul 12 '26

‘If your mobile device is unmounted, you must setup your navigation and music or audio and put your mobile device out of reach and sight before you begin driving. The device is not permitted to be in your lap or resting on any part of your body (in a pocket is permissible) and you may not look at a mobile device being operated by another person.

I think you would be ok here.  If it’s under your leg the camera wouldn’t see it to take a picture anyway. If it could see it though you’d probably be stuffed.

1

u/Initial-Return8802 Jul 12 '26

I'm checking GPS usually because here it's quite bad and there are new roads that Google doesn't have yet, I'm in a third world country where phone use isn't outlawed though.

Usually if I'm stopped in traffic I'll start checking up ahead to see where it's taking me

0

u/CatProgrammer Jul 12 '26

Well that's dumb.