The keep left rule motorists don’t know
Three quarters of South Australian road users aren’t sure when to keep left on a multi-lane road, a recent sa move quiz has revealed.
The quiz asked participants at what speed the ‘keep left unless overtaking’ rule applies on a multi-lane road that doesn’t have ‘Keep left unless overtaking’ signs.
Just 25 per cent answered correctly that in this situation you must keep left when the speed limit is greater than 80km/h.
More than a third of the 4478 quiz participants answered incorrectly that you must keep left when the speed limit is 80km/h or higher. Another 30 per cent of people who completed the quiz said motorists should keep left at any speed.
Driving in the far-right lane of a multi-lane road when not permitted may result in a $310 fine, $102 Victims of Crime Levy and two demerit points.
RAA Senior Traffic Engineer Matthew Vertudaches says motorists must not drive in the far-right lane when the speed limit is more than 80km/h or if there’s a ‘keep left unless overtaking’ sign.
“There are a few exemptions to this rule, with the main ones being when you are about to turn right or make a U-turn, when overtaking, when avoiding an obstruction or when traffic in every other lane is congested,” Matthew says.
“If you’re in a slower vehicle, you should also stay out of the right lane, to avoid obstructing faster-moving traffic.”
The keep-left question wasn’t the only road rule that quiz participants answered incorrectly.
Passing a school bus
Almost a quarter of people don’t know that the speed limit when passing a school bus that’s dropping off or picking up children is 25km/h.
Thankfully, the majority of those who answered incorrectly thought the speed limit was 15km/h. disappointingly though, four per cent of respondents believed the signposted speed limit applied.
Driving on the beach
With new speed-limit laws for beaches being introduced last December, many people still aren’t sure of the correct speed limit on the sand.
About half answered incorrectly that the speed limit is 25km/h on South Australian beaches when no pedestrians are present, while 45 per cent answered correctly that it’s 40km/h.
However, if drivers are within 50m of people on their beach, they must reduce their speed to 25km/h.
Other stats
- 90 per cent of quiz participants answered correctly that you must reduce your speed to 25km/h when passing an emergency vehicle that has it’s blue and red lights flashing and is on your side of the road.
- 65 per cent of people don’t know that the maximum speed limit for an e-bike is the signposted or default speed limit. However, the power source must cut out at 25km/h.
- Only a third of people know that the maximum speed a light vehicle can travel when towing is in fact 110km/h.
- Just 42 per cent of quiz respondents know that the maximum speed a driver with a learner permit or P1 licence can travel is 100km/h.