Police on Queensland’s Gold Coast weren’t taking Michael Dailey for a ride in May when they slapped him with a $225 fine for talking on his mobile phone while cycling. The 44 year old cleaner said he was “shocked” when he was booked by police from the State Traffic Taskforce. The case provoked sympathy yesterday, criminal lawyer Bill Potts said “It’s completely over the top. One would have thought that a sensible police officer if he felt there was any danger, would have simply, in his best Mr Plod voice, said, ’be careful in future’”. But the Queensland Police Service defended its officers yesterday, saying uniform national laws prohibited people from talking on a mobile phone while driving any vehicle, including a bicycle.

The Australian, May 2004. Contributed by Ian Scott.