Australians don’t know road rules
September 23, 2008 by Alborz Fallah
Have you ever wondered just how many drivers on Australian roads have forgotten basic road rules? A fair few, according to a study conducted by Budget Direct earlier this month.
The study asked 1000 motorists nationwide over the age of 25 about basic road rules on parking, multi-lane roundabouts and giving way when passing through an intersection. The results? Well…
48 per cent of respondents from New South Wales do not know how to travel through a multi-lane roundabout correctly. That number rises to 49 per cent for Queensland and gets worse at 58 per cent for Victoria and and a shameful 62 per cent in South Australia.
31 per cent of Victorians do not know who should give way at a T-intersection, compared to 21 per cent in NSW and 23 per cent in Queensland.
State vs State aside, what about male vs female? The survey found that 78 per cent of men overall knew who should give way at a T-intersection compared with 70 per cent of women.
“Perhaps this calls for a major rethink from our motoring bodies on how to curb these statistics, they may need to ask themselves whether there’s any value in making written tests compulsory for drivers every 10 years.” The insurance company’s general manager John Dujmovic said
We agree, although we would like to see a compulsory practical test every five years. What do you think the government needs to do to keep drivers aware of road rules.
Print it: 
Since when does passing a test have to do anything with driving… yes it’s important but not the be all and end all.
BTW when did the ‘keep left unless overtaking’ rule lapse in QLD? no-one emailed me about it. Driving up the Bruce hwy today i was going 110 (100 zone, sue me) and had to undertake about 10 cars doing 98 in the right lane.. and two flashed their lights at me. My god keep left in you old kingswoods and daewoo’s. you have no right to be in the fast lane…
*meh*
State vs State aside, what about male vs female? The survey found that 78 per cent of men overall knew who should give way at a T-intersection compared with 70 per cent of women.
This is so non-news they try to turn it into a state of origin or battle of the sexes… PEOPLE drive cars..
Still i learnt by driving Tanks in 2nd/14th light horse QMI.
What would i know..
What is up this that porsche??
Porsche and BMW drivers especially don’t know the road rules. Cars do have indicators
Yes its true………road rules dont mean anything to most drivers until an accident happens and they try to blame someone else. How many people drive while talking on a mobile phone……….idiots. Saw a lady drive through a red light yesterday because she was on her mobile inan animated conversation……..hands waving everywhere as she sailed through a red light and nearly got t-boned……and she didnt turn a hair !!!
Another thing alot of so called Australians dnt know how to do is buy the best cars…….best car in Australia is the FG by far…………go drive one and you will buy one………..simple as that.
Most of us are crap drivers at some time or another. Some daily, some once a year some in between. If you want to see really bad driving though, go drive in china! Unfkenbelevble.
Many aussie drivers have difficulty keeping LEFT UNLESS OVERTAKING and when they do over take they bloody overtake a car thats doing 95kph at 98kph. Which by the time they get past and pull in it takes up the whole overtaking lane and no one behind them can get past, FFS just put your foot down and get on with it. From now on when it comes to people driving slow in the fast lane I will be giving them the Euro treatment eg. Beep horn, flash lights and aggressively gesture if necessary.
I read one of them road rule books once, pretty boring.
Coming from the contrary in a small town all I had to do to get my license was show up to the local police station, pay my $25.00 and bingo, license done.
It is not rocket science, if you can’t remember to give way to your right, and keep left else were then you shouldn’t be on the road.
Uniformed Australian road rules would come in handy; as I understand it in NSW you can turn right on a red arrow if it is clear?
In QLD you are allowed to do a U turn at the lights.
And what’s all this nonsense I hear about stopping for pedestrians at crossings?
I know, instead of testing every one every five years or so, do an R.R.R.T or Random Road Rule Test. Set it up like a RBT, but instead of getting your breath tested, you are asked a road rule question, if you fail then you should be taken to the station for further testing. Solved.
Something related to the problem Australians seem to have with the “keep left unless overtaking rule”, is the peculiar habit of travelling 20km/h slower than the signposted limit on single-lane highway stretches (like the Pacfic Highway), and then burying the right foot as soon as the road reaches a dual-lane configuration (ie: an overtaking lane).
How many times have you looked down at the speedo only to find yourself doing 140km/h in a 100 zone to try and overtake someone who was previously only travelling at 80km/h (in the same 100 zone)? It does my head in. It’s my least favourite highway driving experience of driving north from Sydney to Lismore to visit the family at Christmas. Utterly infuriating.
Yeah a truck stayed in the right lane in front of me today for 10klms on the f5 level pegging with a coal truck in the left lane.
Seems to be a trend now for idiots to stay in the right lane when not overtaking. I think these idiots see themselves as enforcing the speed limit by blocking traffic.
I read an article recently that found most of Australia’s over taking lanes are not long enough, even if the car you are overtaking is 5klms under the limit, you still have to accelerate more that 20klms above to get past before the lane ends.
I only judge other people on the road because i never make mistakes… LOL. But seriously driving scares the hell out of me (a tour of Iraq and Afgahnistan is safer in real terms) so i take it seriuosly (sic). I’m lucky i’m always driving new or near new cars with heaps of Airbags, vsc etc. But someone going 140 klm in a VN commodore in the rain that you KNOW hasn’t been serviced in 3 years… That gives me road rage…. The risks some people take to get home and then sit around doing nothing. Speeding is ok, time and a place i guess. But 140 in a 100 zone on chinese tyres in the rain… *meh*
Im South Australian and will admit I am not surprised SA is the worst state. I have lived and driven in 4 other states and SA is by far the worst. But I have to say it could have something to do with the thousand speed camera’s we have. Everyone looking at the speedo constantly and not the road. Who has time to remember rules!
I admit it, I made a mistake once.
Suprise, NOT! You only have to drive around and watch to work this out.
Brett,
Is it true in SA they put speed cameras in wheelie bins.
BMWs come with a special inbuilt feature that makes the driver think they are god.
i think its called snobiness
mmmmmmmm,is that right Icejagans? People that think that others that drive BMWs are all snobs are in actual fact jealous!
My favorite shake head at the other driver is when your at a T intersection and you have to give way to oncoming traffic cause your turning right but those on the other other side of the road have NO idea whos has to move first……..
Realcars I feel your pain with right hand lane non passers……grrrrrrrrr,I put my lights on high beam and draft them, now if your in something like a blown XA you can sneak up on them put your foot on the clutch and rev the sucker to seven five,that wakes them up I give you the tip……..they think they have MAD MAX on their arse! hahaha Stomping on and off the throttle in the M3 up hills in the right lane can be a little unnerving if your the passenger,just ask Wheelnut,poor baby ,I think the finger marks in the front seats have now popped out!Bloody Camry drivers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
come to europe and see how bad they are. i live in Ireland and they are the worst drivers ever…but then there are places like Italy and Spain…jesus….
I was in Valencia for the F1 and I swear all of the taxi drivers I got thought they were in the race…can’t tell you how many times we nearly got killed or went flying through the windscreen.
Aussie driver aren’t so bad
Go to China..there are no rules!
MDT, that is also a serious problem in WA as well. You’ll be stuck on a single lane stretch behind some spaz doing 90 in a 110 zone – yes our roads are mainly 110 which is stupid because eastern state drivers would get booked for doing 110 because “it isn’t safe” according to some random numbnut – but I digress.
So you are sitting there feeling your sanity slowly drain away, then you reach an overtaking lane and lo! suddenly people find their accelerators.
Even worse when you get stuck behind a horse float/caravan/boat and the people over take them at 10kmh speed difference so only 1 or 2 cars get through.
This is probably the single biggest cause of road rage in WA and contributes to people getting impatient and doing dangerous things especially at peak periods around holidays etc.
I’m SURE that life would be a lot simpler and safer if we had proper dual carriage ways on our main highways and there was a law mandating to keep left (as in Europe), unless overtaking at which point you should do so as quickly as possible, yes, even going over the “limit” by 20kmh or so. Overtaking at 3kmh is NOT really overtaking.
Just had to pipe in to say how true Mdt’s comments are.
In 2006 I drove from Adelaide to Gold Coast via Sydney and from the time I entered NSW thru Qld and back again I had the same issue. You’d eventually get past one of them and hit another (and yes, I was sticking only to the speed limit or as close as I could get with so many people playing ‘go slow’).
I recognise each person’s speedo may not be calibrated precisely, but 85 in a 110km zone is just crazy and outside the bounds of standard error.
One memorable example was a young ‘lass’ in a Suzuki Vitara, who was a particularly egregious example. After being stuck behind her for what must have been about 70 to 100km (as she would accelerate every time we hit an overtake lane), I eventually did get past her by using the ‘foot flat to the floor in a big V6, speed tickets be damned’ strategy. She then decided to sit on my bumper for about 30km (now doing the speed limit, which she had until then been unable to do unless she was in an overtake section).
I just ask WHY?!?!?!?!?
I should mention the problem was only bad in NSW because thats where there were enough cars for it to be a problem. People try to do it on less dense roads too but there’s lots more overtaking opportunities in rural SA/inner Victoria.
Tom, I have asked a number of people for their opinion on why the “really slow-really fast-really slow” pattern is so prevalent on Australian highways. The most popular hypothesis is that drivers might feel more “comfortable” when they have two lanes of road going in their direction, and therefore subconsciously allow themselves to speed up, and then subconsciously slow down again when the road reverts to a single lane.
There might be some truth in that, but I think there is also a fair amount of “I’ll be buggered if I’m going to let anyone pass me” going on. Whatever it is, it ranks right up there with the inability to keep left unless overtaking, and tailgating at 110km/h as my least favourite highway practices. Of course nobody’s driving is perfect, but those three things are pretty easy to avoid doing.
To answer the question put to us in the article, I would say yes to a written test whenever renewal of the licence is sought. A practical test is also a good idea, as many drivers have very low skill levels.
With higher skills and better knowledge, our road toll could be reduced. Just a stupid thought.
FACT – Driving at 110km/h for any longer than 15 mins will put you in a coma.
At 130km/h you are alert and driving with so much more attentiveness.
Scotland recently took all the speed cameras off the straight and safe stretches of road and placed them only at the black spots where the government had failed to put in the proper traffic management measures.
Result. Road deaths went down 35% and was considered a roaring success.
That same proposal was presented to the Victorian Transport minister and he knocked it on the head due to potential loss of fines revenue!! Yes, this is true.
What came first, the chicken or the egg? Does a population get the government they deserve?
Is it our fault, as largely apathetic constituents, that our government gives us inadequate roads? That driver training doesn’t exist as a requirement for licensing. That we are repeatedly beaten around the head until we willingly submit to appalling taxation in the form of revenue camera’s. That our major multi lane motorways are designed for vehicles to safely travel at speeds of 130kmh, yet have ruthlessly enforced speed limits well below that.
Is it right that those we entrust to look after our road safety think all the training we need is best delivered during a 30 second commercial break..
is it right that they lie to us every day by telling us that speed kills..
Is it right that now it is not even necessary to speak or read English to be granted a drivers licence..
With something so important as driving, is it necessary to have completely different road rules and penalties, just because you’ve crossed an imaginary line on a map?
Is it our fault because of our inaction, or is our grossly inefficient government, one of the highest taxing in the western world, simply much more interested in making sure we obey the rule of law first and foremost, with all other issues secondary.
I say it’s both. But the good news is with the advent of the internet and email your local polly is only a few short keystrokes away. Get his/her email address and every time you get on the net take a minute to fire off a quick letter of abuse!
Quote [IceJagans]: BMWs come with a special inbuilt feature that makes the driver think they are god.
i think its called snobiness
What’s wrong with owning a BMW.. Afterall Australians have a history of supporting the little ozi battler the one who goes out on his own to ccmpete against the big boys.. yet when he/she becomes successful after years of hard work and sacrifice etc and can afford to reward themself with a new car such as a BMW they are considered snobs..
What makes this even weirder is there are those driving round in Hotted up GT-Rs [and other Haymarket Hot Rods] which were either given to them by their parents for failing school or were acquired through various “dodgy” practices Yet they are considered Cool.. All because of the car they drive
BTW there is more disposable income and more self made millionaires in the western suburbs of Sydney [Penrith] than there is in the leafier more effluent suburbs on the North Shore – yet for some reason people in the west are considered Bogans – a Bogan in a BMW sounds a bit odd doesn’t it
Well being a delivery driver I can hardly claim to be the world’s best driver. Deadlines make it hard to keep to the speed limit sometimes. But this is made far worse by drivers who will NOT GET OUT OF THE RIGHT LANE. It would have to be my pet hate on the road. Made even worse by, as was said above, the slow-fast-slow routines.
Granted this is slightly off topic but the other thing that really gets to me is overly tentative drivers. I’m not saying people can’t drive carefully but some seem to take it to extremes. Slowing down 20 or 30 meters before a turn when there is a turning lane is downright frustrating. Also when people are turning off into a driveway or the like, do the people behind you a favor and (if possible of course) MOVE OVER.
The thing is that a lot of the other times people are so tentative seems to be this lack of understanding of road rules. Roundabouts in particular seem to be filled with cars with brake lights flashing on and off as they decide whether they can go or not.
I’m not sure about a practical test but. I think if there’s going to any form of a test it should be a theory test based on road rules. Quicker, cheaper and focused directly on the rules.
lol well this must be the reason y half of the ppl on the road dnt give way etc. lol especially on highways, main roads etc. u always get someone driving in the right lane with a whole load of traffic behind them, being passed by cars in the left lane lol. but what i enjoy most, is when u see a bus or truck being held up by a car, even when both are driving under the speed limit, lol
pfft, they dont even know a simply rule ..*keep left unless overtake*, even 3rd world countries ive been to know how to abide to them..shame
Just to share some light on should be should not be on the right lane. This should only applicable to tollways/free ways where the right lane designates for people who are travelling a long way stil if you are being approached, then be considerate and merge out and let them through, even if the person is doing 150, you just don’t know they may be in an emergency e.g. rushing someone to hospital etc.
As for normal roads city suburbs etc this shouldnt be applicable as you don’t know if people are turning right soon and have a legit reason to hold up people behind.
As for Freeways pushing the speed limit to 130, don’t think its a good idea, as a getting older country I don’t want a not so responsive elderly trying to control their car at that speed let alone everyone else doing 130 and they are on 80 – thats a 50km/h difference if you plan to merge left from behind a big truck getting ready to exit the freeway, and theres a person doing 80 on that side – game over….
wheelnut said: “is in the leafier more effluent suburbs on the North Shore”
I wouldn’t want to live in the North Shore then. Must smell like sh*t despite all the leaves.
I think a lot of the “speed up, slow down” problem on the freeways is due to the money grubbing cops. Instead of concentrating on the road and the conditions, people are constantly watching their speedo and correcting their speed instead of driving according to the conditions because of the revenue-raising tactics of the respective state governments.
I too have had enough of those who seem to speed up when going from a single to dual lane road. On one particular day I was in my dad’s 1.3L Honda Jazz attempting to overtake a ute I had been following for the last 20 kms at 80km/h in a 100 zone. I had waited patiently for an overtaking lane, and so when was signed ahead I dropped back to third and accelerated in anticipation of overtaking the ute. However, once I hit the overtaking lane I found myself eye to eye with the ute driver…and then eye to tray…and then eye to rear number plate. This idiot had decided there is no way he would be overtaken by a “girl’s car” and proceeded to out accelerate me (I know, that’s not too difficult)and then return back to 80km/h after the overtaking lane. This stupid mentality has to stop, it’s ridiculous.
P.S. – Thanks to all those Brisbane driver’s who feel the need to indicate right when travelling straight through a roundabout…
Anyway, rant over :P
Joober all major outback and interstate FWYs and HWYs could be safely raised to 130kph especially with the addition of greater enforcement of the KEEP LEFT UNLESS OVERTAKING RULE aswell as advisory signs for corners and a road safety campaign on driving to the conditions.
Not so long ago the HWYs and most open roads where unrestricted. Speed limits where decreased because of the enormous revenue raising potential, Govts then launched massive speed kills campaigns so the decrease in limits would be accepted by people. Even though cars have gotten much safer limits have gone down. The speed kills nutters that Govts like to listen to, are always some uni professor who hates cars, and whos personal opinion is that everyone should ride bicycles, trains and walk.
Tom, very funny story. I’ve found the same thing, but with me driving a bog standard 80kW 1.6L Peugeot 206. Drivers of other cars hate it even more when it’s a “girlie” car *and* it’s French! Have just swapped to a Jetta TDI, so having over twice as much torque on tap will no doubt help with quickly getting past these kinds of drivers.
Tom & Mdt, I had a similar problem when driving my old 2.5 petrol Transporter down the Pacific Hwy from Brisbane to Sydney. I think the attitude must have been “it’s a slow VW so I’m not going to let it pass”. I got the old girl up to 140kph and still couldn’t catch any of the snail of 8 cars in front of me. The really interesting thing on this occasion was after each overtaking lane closed the lead vehicle had changed but everyone went back to around 80kph – this went on for several hundred kilometers.
The good news is I now have a Passat V6 and just blast past them (much to my wife’s annoyance).
To many Rules thast why they get broken! :P
Anti-spam word ‘faster’ – how appropriate. With those dickheads going 10k’s under the limit in the right hand lane, I’ll have to get a bullbar and learn the PIT maneuver.
Folks,
You should visit Ivanhoe in Melbourne to observe “drivers” who are largely ignorant of road rules.
Consolidated revenue would make a killing from the number of “drivers” who don’t indicate, giveway, use mobile phones and practically everything else which is against the law.
Apathy runs rampant in Ivanhoe!
Stephen
Stephen you are right about Ivanhoe..I haven’t seen such disregard for road rules anywhere else.
As for overtaking drivers who drive much under speed limit and than accelerate when in overtaking lane i use following system. I identify the driver type and once i establish they are “overtaking lane racers” i stay fair distance behind them to lull them into false sense of security. I let first overtaking lane pass without trying. Than as they believe i am quite happy to sit behind while they drive at 80 in a 100 zone i wait for another overtaking lane. From fair way behind them i accelerate fully so when i am next to them the speed difference is at least 50 or more.They hardly ever try.That is if i drive a car that has no power.
If the car has got power i just pass them anywhere i can as soon as i can.
Tony Says:
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:50 pm
FACT – Driving at 110km/h for any longer than 15 mins will put you in a coma.
At 130km/h you are alert and driving with so much more attentiveness.
———————————————————–
While I believe that most interstate HWYs could have thier speed limits rasied to 130KPH safely, I dont agree with saying you are more alert at 130k, While it may be true for the first hour or so, after that you become imunne to the sensation of speed and you still end up with the same HWY stupor.
I have lived in the NT for a few years and found that even with the speed limit set to 130k most people still sit at 100/110k, its been drumed into peoples brains for so long that travelling any faster will make you immediatly crash and burst into flames, that most people have a aversion to travelling at those speeds.
My biggest issue on the HWYs, other than the already mentioned falure to keep left is the inabillty of people to overtake. Many times I have come up behind a convoy of cars sitting behind a slow lead car, all having to crawl behind all because the second car wont or is incappable of overtaking even when safe.
While I think part of the cause is the driver, I also want to lay blame a the type of cars people are driving, now that economy is the the new catch word, cars are being made that are bearly cappable of pulling thier own wieght let alone being able to overtake out on the HWYs.
Case in point my GF auto 2003 pulsar, great car around town but get it out on the HWY and its usless, if you try and overtake by putting your foot down all you get is more noise and bugger all else, so you end up sitting in that damm convoy, praying that the next overtaking lane comes before you loose your sanity.
I just wish that people would understand that saving a buck fifty per hundred ks is nice, but not if it comes at the cost of automotive competence.
Performance is not a dirty word.
I know the road rules much better when I’m driving my Golf than when I’m driving the Jackaroo.
Rule number 1 – always give way to larger vehicles.
Rule number 2 – learn and observe rule number 1
In relation to Badwolf’s comments: i dont know why more car manufacturers dont have a pension for turbo charging. A 1.6l turbo’d city car will deliver similar economy around town as 1.6l NA and still have the power on the hwy when you come on boost to do all the over taking you like.
Oh come on! I spend a lot of my working life in Vietnam. You want to see road rules? Well none here at all. When I get back and drive in Aussie its paradise.Sure there are some idiots but vast majority of road users are just fine.Its mainly common sense but all levels of Govts. are trying to do away with that. In a lot of traffic take it easy let the person in front change lanes if he wants etc, a smile and a wave does wonders.Let the state Govts. bring in random road rule checks… look at the money it would raise and it would do nothing to improve overall road safety.
He He. how I love thrashing round the UK in well disciplined lanes at 145kmh. Just love it.
But its in UK, so it still sucks!! :-)
Suck – nah thats your small minded opinion Shazza
To be quiet honest I don’t think its just Australians that don’t know the rules of the road we have the same problem here in South Africa, especially with BMW drivers.:)