A Sydney bloke who was fined for using his phone while driving has beaten the charge after proving he was, in fact, holding a packet of crackers and cheese dip. The hero we need but don’t deserve, an icon, et cetera.
As reported by the Daily Telegraph, the 35-year-old fella, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was papped by a phone detection camera in Moore Park on June 29 last year.
A few days later, he copped a letter which included a $352 fine and notice that he was going to lose five demerit points.
No crime had been committed, however, as my man merely tried to open a packet of Dippits — the ALDI version of the iconic, delicious, awe-inspiring Le Snak — behind the wheel.
The bloke hired Benjamin Goh to fight the charge in court and prove he was, quite simply, a bit peckish.
“You can only be found guilty of driving while holding a mobile phone if it is proven beyond a reasonable doubt that you were actually holding a phone,” Goh said, per the Daily Telegraph.
“My client is a hardworking Australian who was simply trying to have his afternoon tea after finishing work.”
Let the record show it’s not a crime to eat a succulent artificial cheese-based meal (or any dish for that matter) while driving in New South Wales, as long as you’re in proper control of the vehicle. This means you need to have at least one hand on the steering wheel, which allows the other hand to reach into a packet of Twisties or whatever decadent morsel you’re snacking on.
“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,” Goh said.
To prove the man was trying to crack into a packet of Dippits, he had to demonstrate how he opened the snack on that fateful day in Moore Park. And how did he achieve this, you ask? Why, he simply had to do it in court so the magistrate could judge his lid-peeling technique.
According to the Daily Telegraph, a big part of the case was establishing whether the bloke opened the Dippit from the cheese end, or the cracker end. This is because the latter has non-sealed flaps which make it easy to peel off packaging.
The fella told the court he opened the packet from the cracker end ‘cos he knew it had the non-sealed flaps, and also that he’d already dined on a few Dippits that day and knew tucking in via the cheese end was a no-go.
And thus he won his case after proving he knew his way around a Dippit, and that opening the packet didn’t impede on his driving skills.
I think I speak for us all when I say this is a huge win for folks who enjoy a light nibble while driving. We will not be silenced, nor fined for using our phones when no technological devices were in sight.
