NSW Police rule in Australia that could land you fine

Australians can be fined up to $600 if they are caught eating or drinking behind the wheel under a little-known road rule almost all drivers are guilty of breaking. 

Drivers in Queensland could be slapped with a $575 fine and three demerit points for ‘driving without due care or attention’. 

 ‘You can be fined $575 and three demerit points if you don’t have proper control of your vehicle,’ the Queensland police department explained on Facebook.

 ‘So make sure you’re not one-handing the wheel or taking your eyes off the road to eat,’ the department posted.

‘Obviously, you’re allowed to take a hand off the wheel for a short time to operate your vehicle, but eating while you’re driving could be interpreted as not having proper control of your vehicle and driving distracted,’ they clarified. 

The penalty falls under the state’s driver distraction laws.

In Western Australia, the fine for the same offence is even higher at $600 while in NSW drivers can cop a $469 fine and three demerit points.

In the Northern Territory there is a $150 fine for careless driving – which eating or drinking while driving could be considered.

 Australians can be fined up to $600 if they are caught eating or drinking behind the wheel under a little-known road rule almost all drivers are guilty of breaking

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Eating or drinking while driving could cost you up to $600 and three demerit points. Pictured is a police officer talking to a driver in South Australia

South Australian drivers can be fined up to $201 for not having proper control of their vehicle, with the same offence in the ACT costing $301.

Eating or drinking while driving in Tasmania could lead to a $173 fine and three demerit points for not having proper control of their vehicle or driving without due care and attention.

Up to 60 per cent of Australians have admitted to eating food behind the wheel in data from a new Compare the Market survey. 

Up to 31 per cent said they used their phone while driving, while 17 per cent had smoked or vaped and eight per cent had applied makeup. 

While the law doesn’t explicitly state these actions are illegal, they can be considered a distraction to drivers. 

In 2018, a hungry teenage P-plater was fined $300 after she was pictured eating a bowl of cereal while driving on a Perth road.

A hungry teenage driver (pictured) was slapped with a $300 fine after she was pictured eating cereal behind the wheel in Perth

A photo of her taken by a 6PR radio listener and appeared to show the young woman steering the car with her knees.

The ‘cereal offender’ also got three demerit points and was lambasted by then WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson.

‘You can’t be driving a car and eating your brekkie at the same time. That is just ridiculously dangerous … It’s incomprehensible,’ he told 6PR.