Uber driver Jayesh* tapped his phone just once when a police car pulled him over.

A new trip had just popped up on the driver's Uber app on his phone, which was mounted to his car.

So Jayesh made sure he stopped at the traffic lights in Greensborough in Melbourne's north-east, before tapping his screen to accept the trip.

But the fact that his car was stationary, or that he was working as an Uber driver didn't sway the police officer who handed him a ticket: a $484 fine and the loss of four demerit points.

Jayesh is among tens of thousands of Uber drivers across the country who are frequently having to weigh up whether they should break the law to do their job.