Member for Barwon Roy Butler MP has rising in NSW Parliament to give a Private Members Statement on road safety and social media.

Mr Butler shared details of a tragic accident, where bystanders filmed the scene, and later attempted to profit from the footage.

"When a relative or friend dies in a traffic accident it is a traumatic experience," Mr Butler stated.

"For most people the information about the passing of a loved one is relayed to them by a police officer who knocks on their door.

"Even though police are given training in how to break such terrible news to people, it can still come as quite a shock.

"Recently we heard of an example where friends and relatives of a person who had died in an accident saw footage of the scene uploaded or streamed by someone to social media.

"Some of the friends of the deceased only found out about the accident by seeing it online.

"If the death of a young person, full of potential and loved within his community, was not bad enough, the fact that it was filmed by a bystander who did not offer any assistance to the injured and who also tried to monetise the footage, only served to increase the trauma and greatly exacerbated the grief.

"I had a discussion with the parent of a young teenage boy who was killed in a car accident.

"Images and videos of the son was posted on social media. The trauma that he and his family experienced was exacerbated by seeing the injuries that the teenage boy had sustained.

"We need to find a pathway to make sure that people are deterred from capturing those sorts of images and posting them on social media."

"This sort of behaviour is not illegal," Mr Butler said.

The official media policy of the NSW Police Force states: Members of the public have the right to take photographs of or film Police Officers, and incidents involving Police Officers, which are observable from a public space, or from a privately owned property with the consent of the owner/occupier.

It says that police do not have the power to prevent people filming or taking photos, confiscate equipment, delete recordings or images, or even request that a person delete them.

The policy also says that if Police Officers try to confiscate equipment or interfere with members of the public to delete images or recordings, the officers may be liable for prosecution for assault or trespass to the person concerned.

According to section 60 of the Crimes Act 1900 it is an offence to hinder a police officer in the execution of their duty.

The only way someone filming at an accident can be arrested is if they are getting in the way of the police or other emergency service workers.

ROY BUTLER MP PRIVATE MEMBERS STATEMENT - WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

"But there is wide agreement that filming a dying person at the scene of a traffic accident is offensive behaviour" Mr Butler said.

"It might be seen to contravene section 4 of the Summary Offences Act 1988, which states 'A person must not conduct himself or herself in an offensive manner in or near, or within view or hearing from, a public place or a school.' "

"I will look into whether the Act can be amended to make it possible to prosecute a person who shows offensive behaviour of the kind demonstrated by people who film dead or dying people at an accident scene."

Mr Buter went on to agree that journalists play a part in recording unfolding news.

"Their job is to document the news to inform the public about matters of interest or importance.

"While there is no doubt some journalists overstep the line between collecting material for news and invading privacy, the majority have ethical guidelines that they are trained to follow and they know from experience what is seen as unacceptable in terms of invading privacy.

"However, if we make it illegal to film, photograph or otherwise record the dead or dying at the scene of a traffic accident, we need to make exceptions for people who are from accredited media organisations or who have demonstrated that they have a need and are bound by standards.

"There also needs to be an exception for people who inadvertently capture a scene on dash cams."