Everyone’s doing it, but is it legal to film yourself while driving?

TikTok is rife with videos of people filming themselves while behind the wheel. Are they breaking the law?

The social media age means people will film themselves doing pretty much anything – from the fascinating to the mind-numbingly mundane.

Given the average Australian spends 48 minutes a day commuting (according to 2021 data), it's unsurprising that cars are becoming a popular backdrop for the viral videos plastered all over the likes of TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.

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Whether it's a driver live-streaming themselves from behind the wheel, or capturing their dance moves while stopped at a red light, plenty of people don't think twice about capturing content while driving.

It might make for funny and entertaining videos, but is it against the law? As it turns out, the answer depends on how exactly you're filming yourself.

It's not illegal to film yourself while driving, as long as the camera or phone you're using is properly mounted, doesn't obstruct your view, can be used entirely hands-free, and doesn't have a screen that's visible to the driver.

If you have to touch your phone at any point while driving or have the screen on 'selfie' mode, facing towards you – you're in trouble.

Every police force we spoke to said there is a legal distinction between a mounted camera or phone that doesn't interfere with the driver's view, can be used hands-free and won't be distracting, versus a mobile phone that requires the driver to hit 'record' and 'stop' while driving and has a visible screen that could distract the driver.

"Firstly, in general, recording yourself while driving is not unlawful, however, if a mobile device is being used to do the recording it cannot be touched/used while the vehicle is in use," a Western Australia Police spokesperson told Drive. 

"This would mean the driver would need to commence the recording before they start driving, and only touch the phone again once they have finished driving. The phone must not be touched while the vehicle is moving, or is stationary but not parked."

An ACT Policing spokesperson agreed that using a non-mounted mobile phone with a visible display that the driver has to hit 'record' on themselves would constitute "an offence".

Even if you're using professional filming equipment, you should proceed with caution.

"It may also be considered an offence for professional recording set-ups depending on things like field of view obstruction for the driver, interactions by the driver (not paying due care and attention) with the recording devices, and if recording equipment is on the outside of the vehicle [it could pose a] risk to pedestrians or other road users if not properly secured," the ACT Policing spokesperson added.

If you have to film yourself while driving (as the Drive team often does for our car reviews) it's certainly safer – practically and legally – to use a properly mounted and secured camera remotely operated by a professional or someone in the car.

"The offences of ‘drive vehicle with TV/VDU image visible’ ($387 fine, three demerit points) or ‘drive vehicle with TV/VDU image likely to distract’ ($387 fine) would cover most instances where people are using their phone camera to film themselves for social media content," a NSW Police spokesperson told us.

"The distinction could be made between using a Go-Pro, dash-cam or similar – they are generally mounted and do not require interaction by the user while driving," the spokesperson added.