New research has named Queensland as the state or territory with the harshest fines for four of the most common driving offences, followed by South Australia, the ACT, Victoria and NSW. 

Insurance giant Compare the Market created an index for rating penalties across the country for minor speeding, failing to wear a seatbelt, running a red light and illegally using a mobile phone. Each state and territory was given an “overall strictness score” from 0 to 100 in the study, which also looked at fines in the USA and Europe.

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In bad news for drivers in the Sunshine State, Queensland topped the entire list, both foreign and domestic, with a score of 100 – the worst mark in the entire study. It has the highest fines in Australia for all four of the offences, with motorists who drive without a seatbelt or use their mobile behind the wheel hit with a fine of $1295 for each infringement.

South Australia scored 59.96 thanks to its minor speeding fine ($323, third-highest in Australia) and red light penalty ($620, second-highest), both of which weren’t far off the costs in Queensland. 

The ACT recorded an overall score of 49.90, due in large part to its low mobile phone fine, which was rated at 23.16 on the index. Driving without a seatbelt will cost Canberrans $574, with a red-light infringement worth $522.

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Victoria is next on 39.35. None of its fines for the four offences topped the index, but the mobile phone penalty is the second-harshest in Australia, with the red-light score coming third. They are offset by the seatbelt fine, which is the second-lowest.

Finally, NSW scored 22.94 with the second-lowest mobile phone penalty. The only eye-catchingly poor result for the Premier State was its red-light fine of $562, which is more expensive than the ACT and Victoria.

Oregon topped the strictness list for the USA on 57.09, driven by its $1000 mobile phone fine, the highest in America. Nevada, North Carolina and Utah followed in its wake.

Aussies who think Europe outdoes us for driving penalties will be shocked to learn that Norway, which had the worst strictness mark of any country on the continent, came in far below Queensland at 83.64. Using your phone results in a $1418 fine, with minor speeding setting offenders back a shocking $1522.