Eat a Cheeseburger in QLD, while Driving....$330 plus 3 Demerit points !!!

[csv8]

DRIVERS eating or playing loud music could be fined $330 for inattention under Queensland's Fatal Five police campaign to cut the state's rising road toll.

Not everyone agrees with the government's logic.

Yeppoon P-plater Monte Van Geest said the new laws were a case of over-regulation.

"Will they take radios out of cars too ... ? Where does it end?," he said.

"I think this is about money."

Police Minister Jack Dempsey launched the new Fatal Five highway patrol cars yesterday with the news that 15 days into the new year and Queensland had recorded the same number of road fatalities as this time last year.

And some of those deaths could have been avoided, he said.

"That's why we've added distraction as one of the fatal five."

Speeding, drink-driving, not wearing a seatbelt and driving while fatigued make up the rest of the Fatal Five.

Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said officers did have discretion between fining someone eating a chocolate bar and someone trying to eat a stir-fry behind the wheel, but even loud music could be distracting enough to result in a fine.
Police Commissioner Ian Stewart Police Commissioner Ian Stewart

"We've all seen it in our own lives, people reading something, looking away, picking something up off the passenger seat when they should be watching the road as the vehicle is moving forward.



"It will depend on the circumstances, but anything that causes inattention while that driver is in control of the vehicle can be considered by police officers."

"Every one of those (crashes) can be avoided by people being smarter - not texting on their phone, not eating that pie, not trying to put their make-up on or trying to do their hair as they drive into work."

Mr Stewart said officers had handed out almost 600 tickets - worth a $330 fine and three demerit points - for inattention over the Christmas period.

He said statistics showed about 1200 of the state's injury crashes in the past 12 months had been attributed to inattention.

"It's a shame the public don't seem to be getting this."
http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au...fines/1718973/

My comment..carmakers will have to take cup holders out of cars.

[XRGhia]

Hahahahahahhahahaha. How bloody stupid!

[Smoke Pursuit]

Good... Bout time people started to focus on driving, rather then eating, singing, shaving or what ever else they bloody well do in the car. Driving is a privilege not a right, its about time people realised this and took it seriously.

Pointless thread.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Why do people always resort to insults...

This is a car forum, he is posting about car related matters that are in the news and affect us all, how is this useless?

Personally, I get what they are trying to stop but this is such a grey area I feel there need to be clearly defined activites you CANT do while driving which constitute "inattention". At the end of the day while most people use commen sense for the rest of them, you cant police against stupid.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by grandpa_spec_F6

Personally, I get what they are trying to stop but this is such a grey area I feel there need to be clearly defined activites you CANT do while driving which constitute "inattention". At the end of the day while most people use commen sense for the rest of them, you cant police against stupid.

Thats the world we live in... Getting out of bed is a grey area now, you have to wonder how the world will end up.

Laws are only made due to peoples stupidity... If people didn't do the wrong thing there would be no need to create laws to stop them.

[Bucknaked]

I like a quarter pounder or maybe a sausage and egg mcmuffin to go when I'm driving. How come they just don't ban drive thru's?

[2011G6E]

Unfortunately you can't really allow Darwins Law to apply to drivers on the road...the useless morons would probably take some of us with them when they run out of inevitably run out of talent...

[Spudz27]

Good thing I am in W.A, I must admit I see the point, I am bad for eating whilst I drive, I tend to stop on a long run, grab what I want to eat and eat whilst driving to save time. However I have on occassion dropped molten cheese or something on my hand or lap when driving, and it does distract you, because as hard as you try, you can't ignore the burn lol. So I can see how it could be seen as dangerous.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

I get what youre saying DASH, Im just sick of seeing the same bs over and over.

"A lone gunman shot lots of people"
Solution: scream at top of lungs "ban guns, guns are bad, everyone who uses guns is a murderer waiting to strike.

"Minority of road users do burnouts and drifts in acts of gross stupidity"
Solution: label everyone with anything that remotely looks different to a camry a hoon, justification: "why do they need a car like "x" to get from a to b."

"People have accidents due to inattention"
Solution: fine people and threaten to take their driving privileged away

NONE of these address the root causes... they are lazyassed bandaid solutions so some mug behind a desk can gets thumbs up from the pollies so they can continue to kiss babies and pretend they give a crap about anything else than revenue and votes.

Ill shutup now

[csv8]

EVLKNEVL its not just QLD....http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/geared/dri...straction.html it even mentions eating a cheeseburger !!! I suppose all States have similar rules,,just QLD has made it known!!!!!!


While many motorists have been fined by different police forces in key cities for using their mobile phones while driving, a 25-year-old Brisbane man was penalised $250 for eating McDonald's hotcakes while behind the wheels.


The man was charged with Failing to have Proper Control of a Motor Vehicle. The driver was spotted without his hand on the wheel at around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the northwest intersection in Brisbane.
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/34858...m#.UPZKhPLcAgI

[Steroidfrog]

As he should have been fined. Hotcakes whilst driving?

[XR6T0Y]

Originally Posted by EVLKNEVL

What a useful comment!

If you're not a Queensland resident, why would you expect the thread to be of substantial value to you?

Is it not common sense to not try and eat whilst driving? Sure, i'm guilty of have a drink in the car, but never eating.
Who cares if it has substantial value to me, don't eat and drive, thought that would be obvious......

Guess not

[Jack960]

Yep. The world appears to be regressing

[Bucknaked]

Will they ban all types of food. What about chewing gum? Drinking a bottle of water?

One day they will try to ban and fine you for sneezing, burping, farting, coughing, yawning and picking your nose. Where will it stop

[SM1DY]

Can you drink a can of soft drink while driving??

[flappist]

It is called driving without due care and has been around for yonks.

I remember one "customer" whose doof doof was so loud that it was actually recorded on VKR while doing the QV via the noise cancelling mike in a helmet almost 50m away.

Any action while driving that interferes with the operation of the vehicle is dangerous, doing so conciously is culpable.

[TC200six]

I thought it was already law to keep two hands on the wheel unless changing gear or hitting a switch. Yet the law against eating a burger is only new?

[flappist]

I have deleted som posts here. If anyone has a problem with a thread please use the report function or PM a mod.

Personal attacks will always end in tears......

[flooded one]

I don't like too eat and drive. I don't mind drinking water or a (non alcoholic) drink on a long trip thou

[vanman_75]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Good... Bout time people started to focus on driving, rather then eating, singing, shaving or what ever else they bloody well do in the car. Driving is a privilege not a right, its about time people realised this and took it seriously.

Pointless thread.

I hope your truck is auto , with no 2 way , no music , auto lights , self adjusting seat / mirrors etc no drink between 5 hr breaks .....no passengers ...

Seriously it ain't that hard to drive , I eat drink adjust everything in the car . ...if you can't then hand it in.yes fine some idiot eating a 3 course meal off his lap but a burger ? I should be dead a 1000 times over , thread very relevant , I was unaware they have gone so far ..and in my area .at least I know now thanks for the heads up .......how stupid.

[xisled]

This law is not new. I remember a guy being done in the local paper because he was looking in his bag on the passenger side seat.

[Yellow_Festiva]

This is just plain stupid.... I get the whole '$330 for inattention' fine but when you start being specific about what constitutes 'inattention' then you really see how petty and stupid this grab for money is getting...

So... eating behind the wheel is baaaaad. When I was younger and single I used to do a lot of freeway driving into regional NSW. Hr after hr of 100km/h and nothing much else.

I used to stop at Maccas, go through drive through, get a large chips and rip open the bag while in the car park and tip the contents onto it on the passenger seat...

Got back onto the freeway, put the gear into 5th then would cruise along reaching over and eating my chips... Never did I take my eyes off the road. And yes, every now and again there would be a burger mixed in there somewhere. Tens of thousands of km doing this… now, it’s a punishable offence. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that ‘inattention while driving’ has always been an offence, but perhaps if they want to use the word ‘Cheeseburger’ perhaps also find statistics on how many cheeseburger chomping drivers caused accidents!

I guess it is up to the discretion of the copper...

"We've all seen it in our own lives, people reading something, looking away, picking something up off the passenger seat when they should be watching the road as the vehicle is moving forward.

"It will depend on the circumstances, but anything that causes inattention while that driver is in control of the vehicle can be considered by police officers."

Reading something??? Like the screen on a navigator? How bout they bloody fix these signs – a pet hate of mine:

No Right Turn
between 7-9pm
Mon-Fri

Because... the only time you can read the 'fine print' is when you are 5 metres away... Smart...

Looking away????

Does that mean when I'm checking my blind spot I'm also breaking the law???? Woopsy! Has anyone gone past a section of road where you are not only bombarded with sign after sign, but then flashing billboards, advertising??? How will one read the signs and watch the road???

Picking something up from the passenger seat???

But, the new mobile laws state I can pass my phone to my passenger. Hang on? What if my phone is on the empty passenger seat and the passenger I'm passing it to is in the back???

I'm really getting sick to death of this crap.... Honestly... I no longer enjoy driving how I used to........

I see this sort of stuff every day:

Tailgating, people failing to indicate, people who can't use a round about, people who have unsafe loads, people who get impatient and turn left on a yellow from the centre lane, people who creep forward at intersections and block intersections for the rest of the traffic, people who have cars full of unrestrained kids, people who eat food and throw everything out the window discreetly when stopped (seen 3 ciggy butts this week alone), excessive speeding, road rage / aggression, not yielding for emergency vehicles, turning on red arrows while people are crossing, bald tyres, people parking in disabled spots, people hogging the right lane on the freeway, P and L plates either neatly cut out or jammed so far behind the number plate all you see is one corner poking out, drivers stopping to drop off / pick up a person because they can’t be bothered going into a close side street or the driveway to allow traffic to pass, obviously unroadworthy cars......

The list goes on and on......

This sort of stuff is dangerous, causes agro and accidents and is the pet hate of most law abiding motorists...

You know what I would really love to see, police, on the roads, marked and unmarked pulling people over when they have stuffed up and fining them. Then getting back in their cars to do it all again. And again.

Stop hiding behind bushes at the bottom of a hill waiting for a person to do a few km over the limit…

So what is inattention in my opinion?? Reading a book / News paper, reaching down to get stuff off the floor, driving while applying makeup, shaving, both legs out the window, calling / texting etc etc you know, stuff that really means you are not fully controlling the vehicle…

Ok... rant over...

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by TC200six

I thought it was already law to keep two hands on the wheel unless changing gear or hitting a switch. Yet the law against eating a burger is only new?

But passing a mobile to a passenger is fine.

[flooded one]

while driving the other day. I got so annoyed by a female texting in her car I threw my stubbie out the window at her!! (j/king). I think it depends on where abouts it happens. obviously if I was a copper I wouldn't pull someone over driving on a deserted highway eating a burger that was in control of there car. but if they where all over the road and nearly hit oncoming traffic etc. that's when its dangerous. most people do all this stuff anyway. I see it only a problem when theres other people that can get hurt.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by XR6T0Y

Is it not common sense to not try and eat whilst driving? Sure, i'm guilty of have a drink in the car, but never eating.
Who cares if it has substantial value to me, don't eat and drive, thought that would be obvious......

Guess not

Define eating.

Would a plate of hotcakes be equal to a Snickers bar?

Would popping a stick of gum in your mouth be worse again, or better?

Your drink. Was it a can, cup or a bottle? Do you have cup holders? Is it hot, cold, Frozen or full of ice? Straw or no straw? Lid or no lid?

All these factors can influence the attention needed to consume 'a drink'...

What is safer? Eating a Snickers or drinking a Coffee?

As already mentioned... lots of 'grey areas'...

Funny, seems people have no issue saying how dangerous eating behind the wheel is, yet see no problem with taking their hand off the wheel to have a drink.

[2011G6E]

I was warned for taking one hand off the handlebars on my motorbike a few years back. Apparently there's something there about keeping both hands on the 'bars to "maintain control".
The cop was pretty good about it...he'd been following me on the highway and I had the old "numb wrist" so I locked on the throttle lock cruise control, and dangled my right arm beside me and wiggled my fingers for a while (something anyone who's done any distance on a bike would have done now and then). This is when he hit the lights and sirens. Must have been a slow day. He also apparently saw me standing up while riding some time before that...again, giving the bum a rest and stretching the legs and then repositioning myself on the seat...and again, something most riders have done.

After giving me the warning and telling me how dangerous it was, he said "Why did you remove your hand from the controls?", and when I explained and said I'd been on the bike for about four hours and was giving my hands a stretch, he looked puzzled, and said...honestly..."Why would you want to ride a bike for that long a time?".

There's plenty of little laws hidden away that the cops could use to literally make our life a misery...but they do actually use some discretion and don't apply them.

[flooded one]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

I was warned for taking one hand off the handlebars on my motorbike a few years back. Apparently there's something there about keeping both hands on the 'bars to "maintain control".
The cop was pretty good about it...he'd been following me on the highway and I had the old "numb wrist" so I locked on the throttle lock cruise control, and dangled my right arm beside me and wiggled my fingers for a while (something anyone who's done any distance on a bike would have done now and then). This is when he hit the lights and sirens. Must have been a slow day. He also apparently saw me standing up while riding some time before that...again, giving the bum a rest and stretching the legs and then repositioning myself on the seat...and again, something most riders have done.

After giving me the warning and telling me how dangerous it was, he said "Why did you remove your hand from the controls?", and when I explained and said I'd been on the bike for about four hours and was giving my hands a stretch, he looked puzzled, and said...honestly..."Why would you want to ride a bike for that long a time?".

There's plenty of little laws hidden away that the cops could use to literally make our life a misery...but they do actually use some discretion and don't apply them.

I've never known one person yet too keep their hands on handlebars or a steering wheel the whole time on a long trip.

[Trav199]

i understand what they are getting at.. i just dont like the fact that this "Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said officers did have discretion'' is apart of the low.. one copper will fine you for it then next will let you off for eating a chocolate bar.. HOW IS THAT FAIR???

Bit off topic this but....
When i was on my P's I had my P plate up top of windscreen so it didnt obstruct my view.. Got pulled over one night and was told that he couldnt see it properly because of tint across top of windscreen.. 3 points and $335 fine causing me to lose my licence and nearly my job.. I didnt even realise that you couldnt see it properly.. over a year later i was in missus car and didnt have front P plate even up as it got stolen off the front and she hadnt bothered to get another.. I get pulled over for RBT he then realizes that i have no front P plate.. Has a chat to me and then lets me off with a warning....

makes no sense to me....

i could have understood the copper fining me for not even having it up but he didnt.. yet another fined me when i had it up but he reckoned it was visiable enough.. i also lost when i took this to court..

[GTMOND]

Its a bit over the top were does it end. You can drink a coffee while driving though. The laws are a bit contradictory with talking on mobiles as i can talk on the UHFin my truck or the police for that matter and thats acceptable but talking on mobiles different how. Texting is a different story thats a clear cut pretty dangerous thing to do.

[Chrisosicko]

I live in south Australia but work in qld in the LNG fields just out of chinchilla. And I can tell u just 1 drive up the warrago highway and u can see why there are so many deaths on qld. All this talk about saving lives with fines for eating cheeseburgers is a cop out IMO