Man snapped allegedly sniffing substance off phone while driving

A 21-year-old man will face court after he was allegedly caught sniffing a substance off his mobile phone while driving along the M4 earlier this year. Photo / Supplied

A 21-year-old Australian man will face court and could be slapped with up to 11 demerit points after being snapped allegedly sniffing a substance off his phone while his passenger held the wheel.

The photograph, taken by a mobile phone camera on the M4 at Wentworthville in Sydney on August 14 appears to show the man with one hand on his phone and the other near his nose as his head is bent towards the screen.

His passenger is seen leaning over him to hold the wheel.

Detectives investigated the bizarre situation, and on Tuesday afternoon the man was issued a Court Attendance Notice for driving without proper control of a vehicle, negligent driving and a driver using a mobile phone when not permitted.

Police will allege in court the man was sniffing a substance off his mobile phone while driving and did not have his hands on the steering wheel while the vehicle was in motion.

NSW Police Acting superintendent Bill Darnell told 2GB he had not seen "anything like what the photo depicted" during his career, and officers felt he should need to face a court rather than just pay a fine.

"We have an opinion on [what he may have been doing] but it's down to what we can prove when the magistrate hears our evidence," he said.

"On that basis, we didn't feel we could prove … what that substance might be and what he was doing with that substance."

The driver will appear at Blacktown Local Court on Wednesday, October 14. If found guilty of all charges, he faces a A$1200 fine and 11 demerit points.