Calls for NSW seatbelt law overhaul as drivers fined for passengers’ mistakes

Key points

• Sydney drivers are paying more than $50 million a year in fines, largely for passengers' improperly worn seatbelts, new data shows. Almost 118,000 seatbelt fines were issued in the past year, totalling $53 million, and about two-thirds of those involving incorrectly worn belts were the passenger's fault.
• Sophia White said she received a fine and demerit points after a camera caught her passenger's arm over his seatbelt in Chatswood, and she could not transfer the demerits to him.
• The NRMA's Peter Khoury said fines should not fall on drivers for passengers' actions.