Seatbelts, child restraints and phone laws in Tasmania

By the end of this topic you can

• You can make sure everyone in your car is restrained correctly before moving off.
• You can apply the child restraint rules by age.
• You can explain the total phone ban for learners and P1 drivers.
• You can describe what P2 and full licence holders may do with a phone.
• You can state the current camera penalty for phone and seatbelt offences.

What you need to know and understand

• Everyone must wear a seatbelt when the vehicle is moving or stopped but not parked.
• The driver is responsible for making sure every passenger, especially children, is properly restrained.
• Children from birth to 7 years must be in a correctly fitted child restraint; children 7 to 16 use a restraint or seatbelt depending on their size.
• Learners and P1 drivers must not use a mobile phone at all while driving, including hands-free and voice control, even when stopped in traffic.
• P2 and full licence holders may only make or take calls if the phone is in a fixed commercial holder or can be used without touching it.
• The penalties table on the Tasmanian speed camera program website lists illegal phone use, and a driver not wearing a seatbelt correctly, at 426 dollars and 3 demerit points. Fine amounts change over time, so check the current figure.

Belting up every passenger

• One person per seatbelt, never two sharing.
• Belt low across the hips, flat, firm and not twisted.
• Children under 4 must not travel in the front seat unless the vehicle has no back seat.
• Children under 7 must not travel in the front seat unless there is no back seat or all back seats are taken by other children under 7.
• Replace a seatbelt that was used in a severe crash.
• Only a medical practitioner can support an exemption from wearing a seatbelt.

Phone rules by licence stage

Learners and P1 drivers: no phone use at all while driving or stopped in traffic. The only allowance is music or GPS directions playing through the phone if you set them up before you start and do not touch or look at the phone while driving.

P2 and full licence holders: you still must not hold the phone, rest it on your body, type, read messages or look at the screen. Calls are only allowed through a fixed commercial holder or hands-free with no touching. GPS on a phone is only allowed if it sits in a fixed commercial mount where it does not block your view.

Any driver can use a phone normally once the car is parked.

Extra consequences for P1 drivers

Not wearing a seatbelt and using a mobile phone (including hands-free) are both P1 restart offences. That means your 12-month P1 period starts again. As a learner or P plater, 4 or more demerit points in 12 months also brings a suspension, so one phone offence uses up most of your margin. Our guide to getting your full licence in Tasmania covers how this affects the safer driver reward.

Common mistakes

• Checking a message at a red light. Being stopped in traffic still counts as driving.
• Using voice commands on Ls or P1. The ban includes hands-free and voice activation.
• Moving off before checking passengers have buckled up. The driver is responsible.
• Letting a child under 7 ride in the front when the back seat has room.

Test yourself: Seatbelts, child restraints and phone laws in Tasmania

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.

Go deeper

• Getting Your Full Licence in Tasmania and the Safer Driver Reward
• Learning to Drive in Tasmania
• Tasmania Hazard Perception Test