19 June 2019

$200 fine for driver with balloons in front seat

| Lachlan Roberts
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‘Sorry to burst your balloon’: Police handed a $200 fine because balloons were obstructing the driver’s view. Photo: Supplied by ACT Policing.

A driver has been left feeling deflated after being fined $200 for driving with balloons in the passenger seat that was obstructing their view.

On 12 June, police pulled a driver over in Page after noticing the balloons in the front seat. An ACT Policing spokesperson said the ACT Policing Traffic Operations member deemed that the driver’s view to the left-hand side of the vehicle was obstructed by these balloons, which is why they were fined.

“It is extremely dangerous to drive with an obstructed view and the ACT Policing Traffic Operations member who stopped the driver considered this, and other factors, when they decided not to caution the driver for the offence,” the spokesperson said.

“They would also have been fined if the balloons were in the back seat, as this would have obstructed the driver’s view out the back window of the vehicle.

“A driver must not drive a motor vehicle unless they have a clear view of the road, as well as traffic ahead, behind and to each side of the vehicle.

“In this instance, the driver would have been better off transporting these balloons in the boot of their car, which would not have obstructed the view from their vehicle.”

Officer in Charge of Traffic Operations, Acting Station Sergeant David Wills said the incident is a timely reminder to Canberra drivers not to drive with an obstructed view, including from frost or fog in these colder months.

“I don’t know how anybody could be OK with another person driving a vehicle without being able to fully see where they are going,” Acting Station Sergeant Wills said.

“It looked like the driver couldn’t see out of half their vehicle. This is simply dangerous.”

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