A DRIVER is fuming after his council sent him an invasive photo of his wife and a hefty fine for a minor motoring mistake.
Richard Arnold was driving with his wife Anh Nyugen in December when Anh reached over to adjust a sun visor in the vehicle.
9NewsThe minor traffic violation went unnoticed by the two motorists until they received a citation[/caption]
9NEWSThe photo upset the couple, who say it’s an invasion of privacy[/caption]
The couple didn’t think anything of the brief moment until they received two shocking photos from their local council, along with a £500 traffic fine.
Two photos included in the citation showed Anh reaching to adjust the visor, but revealed more than just her arm slipping out of the seatbelt.
The photos revealed an up skirt shot of Anh’s underwear – outraging the couple, who are now demanding an apology.
Richard told 9News: “She’d leaned up to adjust her sun visor and put her arm through the shoulder strap to do that.”
Anh is only five feet tall, and had placed her leg on the vehicle’s dashboard when the inappropriate photo was taken by traffic cameras.
In addition to the photo, Richard was shocked to receive a fine over the incident which lasted less than five seconds.
He told local news: “I don’t think it’s reasonable.
“If you’re driving your car you can’t be checking your passengers all the time to see if their seatbelt is correctly adjusted.”
The couple was driving on the M1 in Coomera, Gold Coast on December 19 when the photos were snapped.
Richard wants the Queensland government to reach out and apologise: “You don’t expect to be sent pictures of your wife’s underwear, I have to say.
“It’s actually illegal I think to photograph up a skirt. Covert photographic surveillance should not be used in such an insensitive and disrespectful manner.”
The situation has been made worse by the fine, as Richard is a retired aviation worker living on a pension.
Last year, an average of 70 fines were issued per day for seatbelt offences recorded on traffic cameras in Queensland.
Most of the fines were for seatbelt offences committed by passengers, not drivers.
Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads said photographs taken by traffic cameras are encrypted and used only for “enforcement purposes”.
They also said the images aren’t altered in any way before being sent out with the infringement notice.
A woman in Greece was floored last year after receiving a £5million parking fine.
The woman initially read the amount as £5846, but was sent into a panic when she realised the number read as £5846570.
The panicked motorist rushed to the local municipality’s office to challenge the fine, adamant that there must have been a mix-up.
The bemused worker then reassure the woman the hefty fine had been administered in error.
Richard explained how the minor motion resulted in a £500 fine
9NewsUpwards of 70 seatbelt citations are handed out per day in Queensland[/caption]
9NewsThe fine has outraged the couple, who are already offended by the photos[/caption] Read More