A bloke in Sydney has avoided a $350 fine after proving he wasn't using his phone while driving - instead, he was simply tucking into a Le Snak-like packet of crackers and cheese dip.
As reported by The Daily Telegraph, the 35-year-old lad was snapped by a high-tech phone detection camera while driving along the streets in Sydney in June, last year.
Just over a month later, in August, he copped a hefty fine of $352 in the mail along with a letter adding that he had received five demerit points for driving while holding a phone.
In the photo, you can see why authorities may have thought it was a phone. But with the knowledge of it being a cheese and cracker packet, it most certainly does look like a cheese and cracker packet.
SOURCE: 7News
The bloke’s defence lawyer Benjamin Goh said in court on Monday that his client is “a hardworking Australian who was simply trying to have his afternoon tea after finishing work.”
He added: “My client had proper control of the vehicle because the photo showed his left hand was in contact with the steering wheel while he was attempting to open the packet.”
The Sydney driver took to the witness box to clear his name and argued he was trying to open a pack of Dippits - the Aldi supermarket version of a Le Snak.
To prove his innocence, the man had to demonstrate opening a packet of the cheesy snack using the very technique he is said to have used on the day he was caught.
The court was also told he had bought three Dippits while at work on the day he was snapped by the camera.
After a perfect display of peeling the lid back while able to maintain control of the steering wheel, Magistrate Miranda Moody found the bloke to be a credible and believable witness, revoking his fine and five demerit point punishment.
