Delivery driver’s ‘milkman’s defense’ for lack of seatbelt investigated in court

The court heard that the delivery driver was driving door to door at a low speed and was not wearing a seatbelt.

Paramveer Singh is said to have been stopped by Tasmanian police after driving without a seatbelt, including through a major intersection in the Hobart CBD in January.

He pleaded not guilty to one count of not wearing a seatbelt.

Prosecutor Edith Bevin told Hobart Magistrates Court that video from police body-worn cameras showed the defendant did not deny he was not wearing a seatbelt, but that he was a delivery driver. He said he was exempt because of this.

Current road regulations require that seat belts be worn while in a Tasmanian vehicle. And drive no more than 25km/h. ”

Similar exemptions are in place in other jurisdictions such as Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

Senior Constable Jonathan Hitchens, who was on patrol at the time, told the court he did not believe Singh was going over 25 kilometers per hour, but the speed was borderline.

Senior Constable Hitchens observed Mr Singh travel a considerable distance through what he described as a high-risk intersection on Murray Street before stopping at Collins Street.

“I attended a lot of crashes there,” he said.

When asked why he issued a notice of infringement, Senior Constable Hitchens replied: [Mr Singh’s] At first I would have applied discretion, but given that he had previously been spoken to about not wearing a seatbelt, I proceeded with the violation.

Bevin said the nature of Singh’s work did not overrule the security issues at stake.

“I would argue that the defendant had time to put on his seatbelt, not in the circumstances where Mr Singh was engaged in door-to-door deliveries,” she said.

Mr Singh is scheduled to appear in court next February.