5 surprising road rules you may be unaware of in Queensland!
1. I go through a red light because I want to make way for an emergency vehicle. Am I breaking the road rules?
There is an exception for a vehicle to go through a red light. The law allows you to drive through a red light or onto the opposite/wrong side of the road if you were to make way for any emergency vehicle. However, it is your responsibility to ensure that those actions are the only option at the time.
2. Can I carry my pet with me while driving?
Pet is just like one’s child nowadays. Pet owner tends to bring their pet around just like how a parent will bring their child around.
However, do you know that this could possibly be an offence? You are restrained to have your animal in your lap or while you have no proper control of your vehicle. Drivers are recommended to avoid travelling with animals inside the vehicle. This is to ensure the safety and welfare of the animal as well as the occupants of the vehicle. Nonetheless, there is no specific road rules on this.
3. Give Way sign and Stop sign, who has the right of way?
What a question?!
Obviously, a Stop sign is more powerful when giving way. Guess what, that is not completely true.
It is not definite that Give Way sign is less powerful than Stop sign, vice versa. When two vehicles arrive at a Stop and Give Way sign respectively at the same time, the two signs become equivalent. In other words, both drivers have to give way to other vehicles before they give way to each other. The main difference is that the driver facing the Stop sign must fully stop while the driver facing the Give Way sign has only to stop if it is necessary.
4. Do I need to report to police if I had a car crash, but no one is killed or injured?
You are required to report a non-injury traffic crash if any of the following have occurred:
- Damage to public infrastructure (e.g., bridges)
- Suspected involvement of drugs, alcohol or criminal negligence
- Hazards on the roadway (e.g. Oil spill)
- The at fault driver refuses to provide their details
5. Is it illegal to drive too slowly?
The answer can be a yes and a no.
It is understandable if you want to drive slowly when you are having trouble navigating a new area etc. However, here comes the problems when you have the following thought:
“There is no offence for travelling at 80km/h in a 100km/h zone with a string of cars lined up behind you”.
This is totally incorrect! There is no specific road rule covering this. However, the rule is restraining driver from obstructing others on the road. If driving beneath the speed limit can unreasonably obstruct the path of another vehicle, driver can be charged with failing to show due care and consideration. For that, drivers should choose to pull over.
For more information, please take a look at the following links:
