JackTheLad

Has no-one mentioned 'undertaking' yet?

Up until a few months ago it was perfectly legal to go past a car in the right hand land by switching into the left hand lane and accelerating past them.

But just recently in Queensland they outlawed it. Of course 99% of drivers don't read the driving laws, or care, so its as prevelant as ever. So you can still be sitting in the outside lane, doing the speed limit, and someone comes screaming up the inside lane and passes. I haven't heard of anyone being stopped for 'undertaking' yet.

But further to my previous post. I was driving in a right hand lane a few weeks back, when I spotted the guy behind me switch into the left lane to 'undertake' me. I also knew the left hand lane disappeared in 200 metres, so I didn't help him (*ahem* ). He got to the end of the left hand lane couldn't get back into the right hand lane, and had to sit there with his indicator going as 10's of cars streamed past him.

Moral of the story. Don't even think about undertaking someone unless you know the road, and where the left hand lane runs out. And its supposedly illegal now, so don't do it.

JTL

kirsty&al

It depends.

If there is a dotted line (which is usually the case) the left lane does not have right of way. If there is no dotted lines then the car furthest ahead has right of way.

A

Pomster

I got one question wrong in the written driving test.

It asked : 'when merging onto a new road (eg freeway) who should give way- the joiner, or traffic on the freeway'?

judging by the way people drive I thought it had to be different here and said 'the joiner' - apparently it is not! Surprise surprise - all the drivers ignore the road rules and do whatever they want instead!

kirsty&al

You know there's a 1 in 8 chance that the other driver is a Brit

kirsty&al

Ahh...memories of the M25

ABCDiamond

"So its much easier just to stay in the right lane"

That's about right

The polite drivers who stay in the left lane are the ones who get caught out, and not let back in, by the ones who know what will happen and jump straight into the right lane, to avoid it happening.

ABCDiamond

Did the the laws get changed ? oops

kirsty&al

Back to the OP, here's a few good ones (from Victoria):

- If a separate lane exists you are allowed to overtake on the left as well as the right. (Note that there are a lot more right turns off dual carriageways here than in the UK - this is a common reason for slow cars in the right hand lane)

- You are allowed to go into a bus lane (tram lane) temporarily to overtake a car that is blocking the road while trying to turn right.

- You are allowed to go into a bus lane 100m before doing a left turn (50m for a bike lane).

- You can park your motocycle on the pavement (for free) as long as it does not cause an obstruction.

Some unusual ones for Melbourne (including the Hook Turn).
- You must stop to let passengers board or disembark a tram. This means you have to stop as the trams generally run in the centre of the street and the stops are on the side. The passenger is allowed to step into the road and hold up the car if the tram is coming.

- You can only pass a tram at a certain speed (I think it's 10k) - when it is stopped (and not picking up or unloading passengers).

- Although not a rule, VicRoads rules try to encourage road sharing (to varying degrees of success and failure), which can take a bit of getting used to. On a roundabout if you are in the right lane turning right someone may join in the left lane as you go around (i.e. they didn't join the roundabout on the same entrance as you). Because of this you should always do a quick check over your left shoulder when you come off (a bit like Hyde Park corner.) On a dual carriageway, someone pulling out from the left may cross straight into the right hand lane - they will frequently do this if they are going to be turning right soon after. Because of this you need to be careful moving into the right hand lane to allow someone out from the side like you would in the UK. If you are entering a dual carriageway and the left lane is clear then the cars on the main road generally stay in the right hand lane. They don't tend to drift to the left like they do in the UK without indication.

You'll get used to it very soon and you'll learn to use your indicators again.
A

worzel

I drove from Melbourne to Adelaide and all the way from Cairns to Sydney with very few problems.

I didn't enjoy being a pedestrian though. Especially in Sydney. Very scary!

The hook turn was okay so long as you knew you were heading for a hook-turn junction. Otherwise you approach in the right lane, see the sign at 50yds then have to get over left PDQ.

Sure, there are a lot of slow drivers but there are crawler lanes every couple of miles on the main roads- I would love those on the A41 from Brum to Chester or the 50 miles from the motorway into Bridlington.

I only recall one idiot up my exhaust like so many mentioned. I raced her for about 50 miles, accelerating slightly at every crawler lane and slowing down afterwards. She wasn't prepared to go 10kmh faster than the limit to pass me. Great fun! You have to do something to beat the boredom on those long drives.

The hardest thing is sticking to those slow speed limits. 110kmh is about 65mph I think and the cops hide everywhere so you have to stick to it. I started each day relaxed but when I saw signs saying the next town was 150km away I got bored and started going faster and faster. When I go to my parents I use the M6 toll and can drive at 170kmh+ without any fear of getting caught. Even normal motorways 140kmh+ is unlikely to get you a ticket.

Maybe what I am saying is that I should fit right in!

manxfamily

I read that if you have a driving license for the state you live in, lets say, Queenlands, and you move to another state, then its only valid for 3 months, like a UK license and you will need to get another one. So if its NWS to QLD then a theory test is required!!

Could this be still true?

ABCDiamond

No it isn't, its just a straight swap, when its State to State.

samnrob2

Hi....

My name's Rob


And I'm a serial undertaker

I started undertaking in the UK when I realised there were inconsiderate gits who wouldn't get out of the right hand lanes.

It started pretty innocuously - the odd undertake here, another one there.

I considered installing a 'GET OUT OF THE MIDDLE LANE LOSER!' neon light in my car's rear window, that's when I knew I was suffering the side effects.

Then I came to Australia....

Middle lane driving is a national past time and so my habit has been fuelled. I have an addiction.

...next week, Mispronunciation anonymous (seriously, it's 'Go the maroons' not 'mar-own-s')

R

kirsty&al

Careful Rob, you may be undermining a few tenets here, by suggesting these sort of things happen in the UK

zx10r_aus

Maybe you were recognised and word spread and every one kept out of your way..............

zx10r_aus

All this stuff happens in the UK too mate.