A delivery driver has been fined several hundred dollars for not wearing his seatbelt, after a court found he did not qualify for a seatbelt exemption known as the "milkman defence".
The court heard Paramveer Singh drove without a seatbelt, including through a "high-risk" intersection in the Hobart CBD, in January 2022 before he was stopped by a police officer.
Singh pleaded not guilty to one charge of failing to wear a seatbelt.
A video from a police-body-worn camera showed Singh did not deny he was not wearing a seatbelt, but that he said he had an exemption because he was a delivery driver — which the court heard previously was known as the "milkman defence".
Under the current road rules, it is compulsory to wear a seatbelt when in a car in Tasmania — unless you are "required to get in and out of the vehicle frequently while engaged in door-to-door pick-up or delivery of goods, and you drive at no more than 25km/h".
Similar exemptions are in place in other jurisdictions, including Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
Magistrate Marica Duvnjak told the court "I need to be satisfied the defendant was engaged in delivery of door-to-door goods and that he was travelling under 25km/h".
"While I am not satisfied that the defendant was driving more than 25 km/h, I am satisfied the defendant was not engaged in door-to-door delivery".
Singh received a $362 fine and lost three demerit points.
The court heard Singh "misunderstood the law", and thought he was exempt from wearing a seatbelt only if he was travelling under 25km/h.
Senior Constable Jonathan Hitchens, who was on patrol at the time, previously told the court he would have applied discretion if it was Singh's first time, but given he had previously been spoken to about not wearing a seatbelt, he chose to go ahead with the infringement.
