A motorbike rider has been fined more than $300 for wearing his helmet upside down because he didn’t want to put a strap over a pimple on his cheek.
The 20-year-old man was pulled over near Sydney’s city centre shortly after 3pm Thursday.
He was fined $319 and incurred three demerit points for wearing the open-faced helmet the wrong way when he was caught on Elizabeth Street in Surry Hills.
This motorcycle rider was pulled over and fined $319 for wearing his helmet upside down
Police said the motorbike rider wore his helmet the wrong way to avoid putting a strap over a pimple (stock image)
‘This is obviously against the manufacturer’s recommendations and the helmet’s design capabilities,’ the New South Wales Police Highway and Traffic Patrol said.
‘When stopped and spoken with he stated he had a pimple on his cheek and wearing the helmet that way was easier to take on and off without undoing the strap.’
In NSW, drivers and motorcycle riders have their licence suspended if they incur 13 or more demerit points.
They lose their licence for three months in they rack up 13 to 15 demerit points.
The NSW Police Highway and Traffic Patrol said the motorbike rider had ignored the helmet manufacturer’s instructions
Several people compared the fine to former A Current Affair reporter Ben McCormack’s $1,000 penalty for child pornography offences
Several people on the Highway and Traffic Patrol’s Facebook page compared the $300 fine to former A Current Affair reporter Ben McCormack’s $1,000 for child pornography offences.
‘So what Ben McCormack did was only three times worse than this?,’ one man asked.
‘Get your priorities right. What a joke poor bloke puts his helmet on and you guys take half his weakly wage off him. Give yourselves a pat on the back.’
Last week, Manly Sea Eagles rugby league player Darcy Lussick compared his motorbike riding infringements to McCormack’s fine and good behaviour bond.
Manly Sea Eagles rugby league prop Darcy Lussick compared his motorbike helmet fines to Ben McCormack’s $1,000 for chatting online about paedophile fantasies
Motorbike riders in New South Wales generally incur a $330 fine for failing to wear a helmet
‘I got two fines for riding a push bike without a helmet to get lunch the other day totalling $660. Ben McCormack got fined $1000 for what he did. Well done Australian Justice System,’ the 28-year-old prop tweeted.
However, several police on Facebook defended the NSW Police giving out penalties for motorbike riders.
‘I assume you’ve never ridden a bike, let alone come off one,’ one man said.
‘Helmets are designed to protect the head, if he had an accident with it like that.
‘The chances of him getting decapitated are extremely high. They’ve done him a favour, hope he learns from it.’