Perth motorists among the hundreds who have copped fines after being snapped by AI traffic cameras are taking their fight to court.
More than 40,000 fines have been issued in the past six months.
Perth driver Olivia Wood is contesting the penalty she received after her eight-year-old’s seatbelt shuffle was snapped by a camera on the Kwinana Freeway in Salter Point.
Wood was hit with eight demerit points and a $550 fine, which almost cost her licence.
“I always make sure that my kids have their seatbelts in at the beginning of the trip and throughout the whole trip,” she told 9News Perth.
“You can actually see her seatbelt is plugged in, she may have momentarily adjusted her knee.”
The Perth nurse is one of a growing number of motorists who plan to fight their infringements in court.
WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch maintained his hardline stance on road safety on Wednesday.
“We want people to make sure at the start of the trip that adults in the car are wearing seatbelts, kids are wearing seatbelts and they continue to do so but that doesn’t neglect looking out the windscreen,” he said.
“People can do both things at the same time.”
The Road Safety Commission has also released a video instructing drivers how to strap in.
Ross Taylor, the former chair of the WA branch of the Chartered Institute of Transport, is preparing to go to court, too.
Taylor said his granddaughter shifted her seatbelt, landing his daughter in hot water.
“As a single mum with three neurodivergent children, having her car is really fundamental to getting the children to medical appointments, to school,” he said.
Taylor has started an email account to help others in the same situation, and has so far received about 200 responses.
“Absolutely 100 per cent of the people that have made contact with me, in every occasion, they acted honestly and reasonably at the beginning of the journey to make sure their passengers were correctly buckled in and also throughout the journey the passenger was completely and continuously bucked in,” he said.
Among them is a front-seat passenger with a shoulder injury wearing their seatbelt off to the site, which saw the driver hit with eight demerit points and a $550 fine.
Meanwhile, a new mother with mastitis who moved the seatbelt off her sore chest was caught twice and slapped with $1100 in fines.
The Road Safety Commission is reviewing WA’s AI camera legislation and penalties, with recommendations expected next year.
In the meantime, lawyers are preparing to challenge this spate of seatbelt fines in court.
Perella Legal barrister and solicitor Tom Dellar said they had been approached by a group with more than 80 potential clients aggrieved by their fines and wanting to explore their legal options.
“The cameras only capture a single moment in time,” Dellar said.
“If the driver honestly believed their passenger was properly belted up and it was reasonable for the driver to believe that then they may have a defence.”
However, Blanch remained firm: one in five deaths on WA roads is seatbelt-related, and 2026 began with Perth’s highest road deaths in years.
“Wear it properly,” the police commissioner said.
“It’s designed a certain way by very smart people, much smarter than me, that it’s worn without a twist, so it can best save your life.”
9News Perth
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