A driver is warning others to be extra vigilant when washing their cars after he recently copped a $562 fine for an offence he had no idea he was committing — and plenty of Aussies could easily fall foul of the law by doing the same.
Farmer David Ham, 65, told Yahoo News was driving home to Wagga Wagga, NSW, when he spotted a police car doing a U-turn and following him along Sturt Highway.
The driver, who had no idea he was breaking the law, said he “couldn’t believe they were after me”, and he pulled over, learning that a normal part of rural life had crossed over and created a big problem for him.
It was the “guts of bugs” splashing onto his licence plate while driving along remote parts of the country, which had landed the man in hot water, which had made it unreadable to the police.
“It did have a few spiders on it, but I live rural,” David told Yahoo News. “I thought it was pretty steep, no warning, no nothing. I don’t believe it was illegible.”
While he didn’t think it was “that bad”, however, he chose not to argue and instead copped the $562 fine by the side of the road
“I’m very annoyed. I just feel like it’s unfair and unreasonable. There’s no danger or risk to anybody… It’s just crap.”
Have you been caught out by a little-known road rule? Contact newsroomau@yahoonews.com
Clean reg plates are ‘critical’ to keep Aussie roads safe
After the incident in September, David decided to fork out a further $60 to get new reg plates, telling Yahoo News he didn’t want to run the risk of being fined hundreds of dollars again.
While the rules differ between states and territories, Australian jurisdictions require reg plates to be clearly visible without obstruction or defacement.
Sally Webb, the Transport for NSW Deputy Secretary of Safety, Policy, Environment and Regulation, told Yahoo News that reg plates play an important role as they “uniquely identify every motor vehicle on our roads”.
“This is critical for tracking vehicles in traffic, identifying offenders who may have committed a crime, using electronic tolling, and for emergency services to quickly recognise vehicle types and hazards when responding to a crash,” she said.
“Before you set off on your trip, make sure your number plates are secure, visible and free of anything which may obscure the plate’s combination.”
It’s not the first time drivers have been caught out for issues with their plates. A silver Holden Commodore used a ballpoint pen to colour in letters and numbers in Sydney. A blue Lexus blacked out its reg plates at certain angles.
The driver used blue pen to alter the numbers and letter on the number plate. Source: Facebook
Reg plates must also be clearly visible from 20 metres away, and this is likely where David’s plates fell short.
He is urging other drivers to wash their reg plates and, if in doubt, just buy new ones.
“Be careful and make sure your number plates are clean or just get new number plates,” he said.
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