CASEY drivers who fail to obey the new rules, which came into effect last week, could face on-the-spot fines of up to $300 and lose three demerit points for some offences.

Drivers can now be fined if they have passengers not wearing a seatbelt as part of the recent changes to Victoria’s road rules.

The new road safety rules for drivers also include:

• Under the new mobile phone rule, a mobile phone must be kept in a cradle when in use.

• It is now illegal to perform a u-turn over a single continuous dividing line.

• Children under the age of seven must be in an appropriate child restraint.

• Passengers under the age of eight are not to be carried as passengers on motorcycles.

• If a driver is blocking a driveway, the driver is only allowed two minutes to pick up or drop off passengers and must not leave the vehicle unattended.

• A driver must not have another person or animal on their lap.

For details about the new road rules visit www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/roadrules and for information about penalties relating to traffic offences go to www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/penalties