How a Simple Mistake by Olivia’s Daughter Nearly Led to a License Suspension

Olivia Wood, a nurse from Perth, found herself facing the brink of losing her driver’s licence after her eight-year-old daughter was caught temporarily adjusting her seatbelt on the Kwinana Highway in Salter Point. A momentary shuffle captured by a traffic camera threatened to have significant repercussions.

“I always ensure that my children are securely buckled up at the start and throughout our journeys,” Wood explained to 9News, expressing her diligence in maintaining safety standards.

Despite her efforts, Wood received an unwelcome surprise: a hefty fine of $550 accompanied by eight demerit points. The image snapped by the camera seemed to suggest a lapse in safety, but Wood argued otherwise.

“If you look closely at the picture, you can see her seatbelt is indeed fastened. It looks like she just shifted her knee momentarily,” Wood clarified, defending her case.

Now, she joins a growing number of individuals determined to challenge such penalties in court, questioning the rigid interpretation of traffic regulations in scenarios like these.

“I think what would be much better … would be that if she was taken into the police station, given some education,” Wood said.

Police Commissioner Col Blanch maintained a hard-line stance on road safety. 

“We also want people to make sure at the start of a trip that adults in the car are wearing their seat belts, kids are wearing their seat belts, and they continue to do so,” he said.

“But that doesn’t neglect your duties from looking at the windscreen being safe as well. 

“People can do both things at the same time. “

Transport expert Ross Taylor is preparing to face court after his granddaughter shifted her sash, landing his daughter in hot water.

“As a single mum with three neurodivergent children, to have her car is really fundamental to getting the children to medical appointments, to school,” he told 9News.

An email account he created to help others in the same situation has 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,” he said,

In one instance, a front-seat passenger with a shoulder injury snapped wearing the sash off to the side, leaving the driver with eight demerit points and a $550 fine.

A new mother with mastitis who moved the strap off her sore chest was caught twice by AI cameras and slapped with $1100 in fines.

The Road Safety Commission review into WA AI camera legislation and penalties is expected to report next year. 

In the meantime, lawyers are preparing to challenge a spate of seatbelt fines in court.

“We’ve been approached by a group currently containing in excess of some 80 potential clients who are aggrieved by their infringements and are wanting to explore their legal options,” Parella legal barrister and solicitor Tom Dellar told 9News.

Some drivers have already been successful in having fines overturned but others have been forced to pay after their penalties were upheld. 

“The cameras only capture a single moment in time, and if the driver honestly believed that their passenger was properly belted up, and it was reasonable for the driver to believe that, then they may have a defence,” Dellar said.

But the commissioner remained firm. 

“One in five deaths on WA roads is seatbelt related; 2026 started with our highest number of road deaths in years,” Blanch said.

“Wear it properly. It’s designed a certain way by very smart people, much smarter than me.”

The fine saga is growing by the day as more drivers find they’re copping penalties for how their passengers wear seat belts.

The Road Safety Commission is looking at what can be changed, but ultimately it is a decision for the government, and that could be cold comfort for drivers. 

“These safety cameras are about changing behaviour,” a government spokesperson said in a statement. 

“Drivers were issued an eight-month warning period. 

“The law is clear and responsibility remains with the driver to ensure passengers wear their seatbelt correctly.”

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