Top cop says Australians shouldn’t be driving amid coronavirus lockdown

Dozens of Australians are being fined for just going for a drive to ease the boredom of coronavirus lockdown – even if they don’t leave the car.

Stage three lockdowns across the east coast ban all non-essential travel with fines of at least $1,334 handed out.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll warned drivers pulled over without an excuse would join the 139 people who copped infringements in a week.

‘On the weekend, we have fined people for blatantly just being out and about going for a ride or a drive, which was clearly not essential travel,’ she said.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll warned drivers pulled over without an excuse would join the 139 people who copped infringements in a week

‘I think we have been patient, we have communicated with people, we have been very, very compassionate, but time and time again, even when we pull people over and explain this to them, it’s happened again and again.

‘Unfortunately for those people they’ve been given an enforcement notice.’ 

Fines were levied even where no one in the car could possibly spread or catch coronavirus because they didn’t step out of the vehicle.

Commissioner Carroll appeared to stop short of threatening to fine people for driving to their holiday homes over Easter but said it would be ‘optimal’ if they stayed at their primary residence.

‘There are nuances, obviously, but if it’s non-essential you shouldn’t be on the road. If you’re not going to an essential service, you should be in your home,’ she said.

Nineteen of the fines lobbed at Queenslanders since the lockdown were to drivers at a car rally in Rochedale, south of Brisbane, on Saturday night.

Many of the car enthusiasts tried to flee the scene when police arrived and some got bogged as they drove across grassland to escape.

A couple (not pictured) were fined $2,000 for violating coronavirus distancing laws after they were found sitting in a car. Police are pictured above at a check point on the NSW and QLD border

A couple (not pictured) were fined $2,000 for violating coronavirus distancing laws after they were found sitting in a car. Police are pictured above at a check point on the NSW and QLD border  

Commissioner Carroll said the other 120 were for ‘non-essential travel, blatantly disregarding quarantine rules (and) lack of social distancing in our parks’.

‘Disappointingly, although we have given a lot of messaging around this, people are still disregarding and blatantly disregarding the rules,’ she said.

‘So it’s very simple – maintain social distancing. Please, non-essential travel – you shouldn’t be ‘travelling outside your village’.’

Victoria, which has taken the most heavy-handed approach with the fewest exceptions, also fined a teenager on a driving lesson.

Hunter Reynolds, 17, was getting experience driving in the rain with her mother in Frankston, Victoria on Sunday when she was hit with a $1,652 fine.

The girl’s mother Sharee said she did not realise driving lessons were banned in her state.

‘We weren’t in contact with any person, we weren’t stopping anywhere, we weren’t planning on visiting any destinations, we were just learning to drive,’ she said.

Hunter Reynolds (pictured), 17, was learning to drive with her mother in Frankston, Victoria on Sunday when a policewoman pulled them over

Hunter Reynolds (pictured), 17, was learning to drive with her mother in Frankston, Victoria on Sunday when a policewoman pulled them over

NSW Police appear to be just as strict in enforcing non-essential travel rules, fining a couple $2,000 for simply sitting inside a car on a deserted suburban street. 

The 32-year-old woman and 27-year-old man were found in Muswellbrook in the Hunter region on April 1 and could offer a valid explanation for why they were out.   

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said  ‘there is a chance down the track where we can lift the restrictions in some ways’ if the current rules were followed. 

‘Or else what we don’t want to have to do is go harder and that is certainly something I don’t want to (do),’ she said on Monday morning.

‘We want this to continue but please also know we are already thinking about and focused on recovery.’ 

The Public Health Act states that residents may not gather in groups over two people and can only leave their homes for one of 16 essential reasons. 

These allowable excuses include exercise, medical appointments, providing care and attending school or work. 

Violating these strict laws can see people issued with a Penalty Infringement Notice that carries a $1000 on-the-spot fine.     

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 5,795

New South Wales: 2,637

Victoria: 1,158

Queensland: 921

Western Australia: 460

South Australia: 409

Australian Capital Territory: 96

Tasmania: 86

Northern Territory: 28

TOTAL CASES:  5,795

RECOVERED: 2,315 

DEAD: 40

In the 24 hours to 8am on Monday, Victoria Police issued 108 fines. 

In Queensland, police fined 139 people last week, including 19 people at a car rally.   

New South Wales Police has fined 85 people for breaking restrictions, including 18 people over the weekend. 

One man who was enjoying a kebab on a park bench in Newcastle was slapped with a $1,000 fine last week. 

Police stopped a car in Quakers Hill around midday on Saturday and issued a $1,000 fine after speaking with the two people in the front seat. 

The driver was employed delivering food but the 33-year-old passenger was fined after admitting she was only there because she was ‘bored’ at home. 

Officers also pulled over a car in Bankstown in Sydney’s western suburbs on Friday night and spoke to a 20-year-old driver and her 21-year-old passenger. 

The pair were unable to provide a valid reason for driving around and the passenger was issued with a fine when she gave false identification and became argumentative. 

NSW Police officers have also issued fines to residents who were out drinking and socialising. 

NSW Police (pictured) are giving fines locals without a valid excuse for being outside

NSW Police (pictured) are giving fines locals without a valid excuse for being outside 

NSW Police raise $18,000 in 3 days: Coronavirus fines this weekend 

Since Friday, 18 fines have been handed out in NSW. In each case the person was previously given a warning or argued with police

A 55-year-old man who was in Benerembah Lane, Griffith without reason.

A 27-year-old man drinking with a group of people at a pub in Tenterfield Street, Deepwater 

A 37-year-old Newtown man for hanging out with other people on a road

Two women aged 20 and 21 for driving around in Bankstown 

Three men in Liverpool for not obeying social distancing rules

A 30-year-old man in Bankstown who was pulled over

A 33-year-old woman in Quakers Hill Police who sat in the front of a delivery driver’s car while he worked because she was bored at home

A 38-year-old woman found drinking with six people in Jonson Street, Byron Bay

A 34-year-old man and his 24-year-old friend from Goulburn  

A man at the Sydney Opera House who was previously seen there

A 23-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl at a barbecue in New England

Four men from the Sutherland Shire who were drinking and having a BBQ.

  

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