With Road Rule Awareness week in April this year and in preparation for our meeting, the Motorcycle Council of NSW wanted to find out the road rules of most concern.
These are the road rules you thought motorists did not understand properly and were affecting your riding and safety on the roads in NSW.
As of early March 2020, we had 1065 responses to our survey. We thank you for taking the time to complete the survey. The MCC of NSW tries to represent the views of our members and motorcyclists in NSW and this survey helped us with Road Rules Week.
The road rule of most concern to riders
Mobile phone use by drivers was overwhelmingly of most concern to just over 70% of motorcyclists. Drivers being caught using mobiles phones has been tightened with the new camera detection system implementation. It will be very interesting to see if there is an improvement in a reduction in mobile phone use whilst driving with these new measures.
The other road rules – giving way at roundabouts, keeping a safe distance behind a vehicle, lane filtering, and turning left across a bus lane were equally the second rule of most concern.
Communication of new road rules
Social media and media / news were the most common methods that you heard about new road rules. Other comments included – found out about road rules after a fine had been issued or don’t hear anything, and with discussions with friends.
Again, overwhelmingly and obviously, you said you wanted better publicity of new road rules. The MCC of NSW will continue to push road rule communication with the state government to ensure drivers and riders know the road rules.
Did you answer the new road rules correctly? Here are the answers
We were pleased and proud to find most of our motorcyclists knew the answers to the new road rules.
Question 1: Drivers are required to slow down to a speed of 40km/h when passing a stationary police vehicle or emergency vehicle with flashing red-and-blue lights or a tow truck. At which road speed does this rule apply to?
Answer: 80km/h or less
Question 2: Does this slow down rule apply to a stationary tow truck, breakdown assistance or emergency vehicle on the opposite side of the road?
Answer: No, if the road is divided by a median strip
Question 3: Using a mobile phone whilst driving is illegal, however, an unrestricted driver can use their mounted mobile hands free for –
Answer: All of the Above (Making and receiving phone calls, playing audio and navigation on the mobile)
Question 4: Can a passenger make a video call whilst the car is moving?
Answer: Yes, but only if the driver cannot see the screen
Question 5: With the new mobile phone road rules, when pulled over by police, can the driver/rider access their Digital Drivers Licence?
Answer: Only when instructed by the police
Question 6:
In NSW, can you pay for your burger at the drive-through with your mobile phone?
Answer: Yes
This question had some of you stumped, with answers divided evenly between, yes, no, and don’t know!
So now you can rest easy and pay for your burger in NSW with your mobile phone if the driveway is on private property (please note, different rules apply interstate!).
Question 7: How far away can the driver walk from their car/motorcycle whilst the keys are in the ignition?
Answer: 3 metres
30% of responses thought it was not an offence to leave the keys in the ignition. This rule is to ensure that vehicles always remain secure, even when ducking into the local cafe to grab a coffee!
If you are unsure about any road rules, check out the RMS Road Users Handbook.
Thank you again for taking the time to complete the survey.
Our next survey will be about motorcycle CTP Insurance
Our next survey will be to gather rider’s views on how, in the medium to long term, the CTP scheme could be improved to give riders a better deal. This will be conducted in April/May 2020. Keep an eye out on our Facebook page for the link.
Get in touch with us if you have any questions about our road rules survey.
