QUEENSLAND fisherman Nico Brand had spent a night on the Sunshine Coast’s Pumicestone Passage before an encounter with police that “flabbergasted” him.

He saw a host of police officers and Department of Transport and Main Roads officers at the public jetty next to the Power Boat Club at Golden Beach as he pulled his boat up to the pontoon on a Sunday morning in March.

He passed them as he backed his van onto the ramp, loaded his vessel then drove about 15m within the parking area before stopping to tie down his boat the Sunshine Coast Daily reports.

media_camera If you don't wear a seatbelt at a boat ramp you could cop a $365 fine?

When a police officer approached Mr Brand and asked if there was any reason he was not wearing a seatbelt he was “dumbfounded”.

“I said ‘It’s a car park’ and she said ‘it’s not a car park, it’s a public road’,” he said.

He was fined $365 and given three demerit points, some advice on tightening and tidying his tie downs, and went on his way.

A couple of weeks later Mr Brand asked for the fine to be reviewed.

“I wanted to know where’s the fairness where you’ve backed into a waterway where the chances of rolling backwards into the water are far greater than hitting someone at 5kmh,” he said.

“Is it really fair to expect someone to put a seatbelt on when he’s on a boat ramp and comes up and parks 15m away?

“If I was really breaking the road rules why haven’t I been fined for driving with an unsecured load?”

Caloundra police officer-in-charge John Mahony said boat ramps and car parks were road-related areas so normal traffic rules and regulations applied.

media_camera Nico Brand.

“The legislation states that if the vehicle is in a forward motion on a road-related area then the seatbelt is to be worn,” Senior Sergeant Mahony said.

“You do not have to wear a seatbelt if you are reversing, however, prior to the vehicle commencing a forward motion following a reversing action you have to wear a seatbelt.

“Now at the same time obviously police quite often act with discretion and depending on the circumstances police may wish to use their discretion when making the decision to issue or not issue an infringement notice.”

He said Mr Brand’s query about why he was not fined for having an unsecured load was an example of police using discretion.

“That’s normal boat ramp etiquette; you prepare your boat prior to getting into that (ramp) area and you leave as soon as you can and go and secure your boat nearby,” he said.

Snr Sgt Mahony said high-visibility police operations, like the one in which Mr Brand was stopped, were as much about educating drivers as enforcing the law.

“It’s well documented that even low-speed traffic accidents can cause significant injuries to the driver and occupants, and the wearing of approved seatbelts significantly reduces injuries to drivers and passengers as a result of vehicle accidents,” he said.

Mr Brand has since received an answer to his review request telling him the fine was appropriate and explaining he could pay it or contest it in court.

He has not decided what to do next but said drivers should not have to wear seatbelts on boat ramps.

“Everything’s underwater and now you’ve got to climb in and put a seatbelt on?” he said.

“While you’re in the water you’d want to jump out as quick as you can if anything goes awry.”

Originally published as The $365 fine that baffled boatie