As the first month of the new year disappears into the distance, we’ve got an important reminder about a crackpot road rule that applies across Australia.
Paying without cash or card is an increasingly appealing proposition, but this method is legally forbidden in drive-throughs in most Australian states. But what if you’re sitting still? Sure, you’re trembling with desire for a sweet plant-based burger and fries, but the car is motionless? Daft as it seems, this is still an offence that can set you back hundreds of dollars and four demerit points.
The VicRoads website states that drivers “must not use a mobile phone (hand-held or hands-free) for any function while driving (including while stationary but not parked).” This relates to anyone at a level below fully licensed (i.e. learners and P-platers).
Fully licensed drivers can use a phone’s GPS or audio functions (including making and receiving calls), but only when “secured in a commercially designed holder fixed to the vehicle.” Your only other option is when the phone can be operated without you needing to touch it.
The law has been updated in NSW
As of November 2019 NSW drivers can pay using their phone in drive-throughs or at the boomgate of a car park. However, strict guidelines remain in place. The updated law requires vehicles to be stationary and either off road or in a car park, drive-through or driveway.
Until rule changes are announced, it’s still an offence elsewhere. South Australian traffic law specialist Karen Stanley told the ABC that road rules are generally applicable Australia-wide. “Even though [a drive-through] is privately owned, it’s still considered a public area because part of the business of the takeaway drive-through is that public cars come in and drive through and buy food.”
South Australian police echoed the VicRoads law, telling the ABC that handheld mobile phones can only be used when the car’s in a “condition where it cannot move by itself.”
The law was designed to prevent people picking up their phone at red lights. Technology has advanced, but the law remains rigid. However, Stanley believes police aren’t strictly enforcing the law in drive-throughs.
Penalties for paying with your phone at a Drive-Through
Victoria: $484 fine/ four demerit points
Queensland: $391 fine/ three demerit points
Western Australia: $400 fine/ three demerit points
Australian Capital Territory: $447 fine/ four demerit points
Northern Territory: $250 fine/ three demerit points
Tasmania: $300 fine/ three demerit points
South Australia: $308 fine/ three demerit points
