Somehow, Victoria Police have topped the chart on this month's 'weird fines' after a pair were caught using their vehicle as a makeshift boat to re-enact a famous scene from the 1997 movie Titanic.
Victoria Police said that Mansfield Highway Patrol was left "bewildered" by a "high-speed Titanic impersonator" near Mount Buller on June 24, 2025.
"Police were conducting speed detection checks along Mount Buller Road when a Jeep was observed with a woman standing with her upper body outside the vehicle's sunroof."
"Her arms were spread wide in the air as the Jeep was travelling at 100km/h. The vehicle was intercepted, and officers were quick to draw up some fines like one of those French girls. The passenger was slapped with nearly $600 in fines, while the driver also copped $600 worth of fines and three demerit points for allowing such a stunt to take place."
While this stunt is incredibly dangerous and outright illegal, there are several different things you could be fined for in this instance.
The most obvious is a fine for not wearing a seatbelt. In the event that your passenger is not wearing one, the driver receives a three-demerit-point infringement and a $349 fine. If the passenger is over 16 years old, they will also incur a separate fine of $349.
Then you have a fine stacked on top for "drive or travel with any part of body protruding". According to Victorian legislation Road Rule 268, "A person must not travel in or on a motor vehicle with any part of the person's body outside a window or door of the vehicle unless the person is the driver of the vehicle and is giving a hand signal".
This specific part of the road rule carries a fine of up to three penalty units, and at $197.59 per unit, both the driver and passenger (if over 16 years old) could score a fine of up to $592.77.
The motorist could have also been susceptible to a $10,000 fine for the subsection of rule 268: "A person must not travel in or on a part of a motor vehicle that is not a part designed primarily for the carriage of passengers or goods".
We can assume that both the driver and the passenger received a fine of approximately one penalty unit for having a body part outside the window, plus one for not wearing a seatbelt each.
Around Australia, it is illegal to travel with any body part outside of the car, which can result in fines of $349 and three demerit points in NSW, or $268 and three demerit points in Queensland.
With nearly $1200 in fines, it's safe to say the duo will keep their Jack and Rose impersonations to the comfort of their own home.
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
