Driving in Australia can be intimidating, especially if you’re a tourist or a new driver. However, there are several road safety rules that you want to follow to help keep yourself and everyone around you safe. These road safety rules may seem like common sense, but it’s always nice to have a refresher course.
- If you’re driving on a highway or on a freeway, you should stay in your left lane or lanes if there is more than one left lane going in the same direction. You should see plenty of signs to remind you of this.
- If you’re crossing at an intersection or entering it, you want to yield to the motorist on your direct right unless said motorist stops by a yield or stop sign. When you come to a T intersection, the driver who is going straight through has the right of away.
- All passengers in a vehicle have to wear a seatbelt. For children, they have to be in approved child safety seats until the age of seven. Once they get to seven years old, you can trade the child safety seat for a simple seatbelt.
- If you have a blood alcohol level of 0.05% or higher, it’s illegal for you to get behind the wheel of a car and drive. If you have a probationary license, it’s illegal for you to get behind the wheel and drive if your blood alcohol level is above 0.
- If you need emergency services like fire, police or paramedics, you should dial 000. This is strictly an emergency number, and there are fines for prank calling it.
- Pay close attention to speed limits. For a long time, the residential speed limit has been 60 kilometers per hour, but a lot of suburbs in Sydney and Brisbane recently lowered them to 50 kilometres per hour. Country roads, highways, and freeways have speed limits between 100 to 110 km/h.
- Have some change on hand if you plan to travel by the Sydney Harbour Bridge because these are toll roads. Having change ready will prevent congestion and traffic build up as you go through.
- Be aware of the road conditions as you drive because they can change from sealed road surfaces to unsealed road surfaces to gravel very quickly. This can negatively impact your control over the car.
These road safety tips can help you enjoy your time driving around Australia. Pay attention to your surroundings and enjoy the beautiful scenery.