Isabel didn’t even realise she had broken the law until three fines turned up in her mailbox.
The fines – collectively worth more than $1,200 and nine demerit points – were all for seatbelt offences within the same week in Sydney while she helped a friend move house.
“I was like, there’s been some kind of malfunction. This is impossible. I always wear my seatbelt,” Isabel recalled.
On viewing the picture a detection camera had snapped of her, she realised that she had in fact been fined for wearing it incorrectly – she’s only 157cm and often puts the seatbelt under her arm so it doesn’t irritate her neck.
“I have since learned that is an offence,” Isabel said.
She is among tens of thousands of people in New South Wales who have been fined since July 2024, when the state government significantly expanded its ability to peer into cars to detect if someone was wearing their seatbelt correctly.
In 2024-25, the first year of the new technology being rolled out, revenue raised via seatbelt fines rose by 1,400% – to almost $59m from 132,698 penalties.
In the previous financial year, before the cameras were active, $3.7m was raised from 9,529 penalties.
The government says the money raised from the fines – which are more than $400 each and come with three demerit points – is invested back into road safety.
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Out of the 140m cars scanned in 2024-25, most people were found to be doing the right thing. Only 0.09% of drivers or passengers were found to have committed a seatbelt offence.
The vast majority – 88% – of that small portion of offenders were wearing their seatbelts, but incorrectly.
However, people appear to be learning their lesson, with offences down 60% in July 2025 compared with July 2024, when the cameras were first introduced.
The suspect images of drivers and passengers are flagged by artificial intelligence, and the photos are then reviewed by Revenue NSW staff before any fine is issued.
Isabel requested a review of her three fines, given the camera had snapped her again before she had a chance to receive her first fine and learn her lesson. She was forgiven the last two notices.
“I went to Supercheap Auto and I got my bejewelled seatbelt cover, so I can wear it properly and it doesn’t irritate my neck,” she said. “I never understood why people had seatbelt covers, but now I do. So, lesson learned.”
Kris Savic recently applied to get his fine reviewed after he was caught wearing his seatbelt under his arm. He explained in his application that he’d had surgery on his chest and could seek a medical certificate if necessary.
But he was denied – for not providing a medical certificate.
“I actually didn’t realise it was against the law to wear it like that,” Savic said. “I get now it’s wrong, but also it’s different getting caught by a police officer and being able to explain and show I have stitches, it might have helped me get a warning.”
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