Test your knowledge on Australia's tricky road rules

Australia is the land of some strange and wacky road rules - not all of them well-known - but just how strictly are they enforced?

Drivers across the country have periodically been caught out for unusual requirements while behind the wheel of a car that result in fines worth hundreds of dollars each, with some infringements even costing millions within years.

Test your knowledge of the rules. 

If you've got a Halloween party to get to in the next few days, do yourself a favour and dress up when you get there or commute - but don't drive in costume.

Otherwise, as the International Drivers Association warns, you could arrive at your shindig with your wallet $2000 lighter.

Australian driving laws very much consider bulky masks or make-up a driving danger, as it inhibits vision and reactions behind the wheel.

"Impaired vision or restricted movement can dangerously affect your driving ability, leading to potential accidents," IDA expert Dominic Wyatt said.

"So besides risking fines, you are also putting yourself and other road users at risk."

Queensland Roads bosses posed a U-turn conundrum on X.

"The driver of the blue car is making a U-turn at the traffic lights while the driver of the orange car is turning left in a slip lane," they asked.

"So who needs to give way?"

The answer is all to do with the traffic lights, the experts said, advising drivers to check the rules.

The blue car is allowed to make a U-turn as there is a sign saying it's permitted.

But it must give way to the orange car in this case.

"When you are doing a U-turn, you must give way to all other vehicles and pedestrians — even if other vehicles are facing a give way or stop sign," the Roads website says.

New laws introduced in Queensland could see additional penalties of over $6000 imposed on Queensland e-scooter riders.

If the legislation is passed, riders will have new responsibilities while they're out and about.

So what's changed?

While e-scooters and other personal mobility devices are already obliged to ride with care on roads, the new laws, put forward in state parliament today by Queensland Transport Minister Mark Bailey, will expand that obligation.

The proposed laws will make it an offence for the rider of a PMD or bike to ride without due care and attention on a road-related area, such as a footpath, bike path or shared path.

They will also enforce an obligation for a rider to stop and assist and provide needed information after a collision, just as with a driver of a car or other vehicle.

The driver of the orange car has come to a stop at the traffic lights and is checking their phone for directions. The phone is being used as a GPS.

Is this allowed?

It certainly is not.

When you're behind the wheel, unless you're parked - stopped in traffic or at the lights doesn't count - you do not touch your phone at all. Even if it's turned off, resting it on your lap could see you penalised.

Open and P2 drivers can operate a hands-free phone but cannot touch it.

In Queensland, the penalty for improper use of a phone while driving can reach $1161 and four demerit points.

Can you make head or tail of this?

This confusing parking sign was snapped in Sydney by senior 9News reporter Eddy Meyer in central Sydney.

"Dear ⁦@cityofsydney⁩ Are you serious with this sign?!! Car was towed even though the machine gave us a ticket," Meyer wrote.

Meyer said on X, formerly Twitter, that he had paid for and received a parking ticket at about 10.30am, under the impression that the no-parking clearway was only in force from 2pm-9pm on the days specified.

However, it apparently indicates the clearway is in force from 2pm on September 30, continuously until 9pm on October 2.

Unfortunately, this meant the 10.30am park attracted the notice of local authorities and the car was towed.

"Thankfully, the towie passed and told us where the car was," Meyer wrote.

With the long weekend and school holidays and summer in the air, the open road beckons.

But as a new campaign from the South Australian government wants to remind people, a seemingly innocuous item in your car could cost you hundreds of dollars if you forget about it when you cross the border.

The new campaign urges travellers to remember to dump any fruit in their car at the border, where special quarantine bins are provided.

Or they can eat it prior to their entry to the state, of course.

Failure to get rid of the fruit one way or another could bring a $414 fine, however.

The rule also applies to South Australians entering the Riverlands region.

The reason for the crackdown on fruit isn't the result of intense lobbying by sausage roll suppliers, but because of the fruit fly.

The fruit fly is one of the world's most devastating horticultural pests, with the potential to cause huge damage to Australia's $13 billion horticultural industry.

The Queensland fruit fly, endemic to Australia, is in Queensland, the NT, NSW, and Victoria.

The Mediterranean fruit fly is an introduced pest and is mostly found in south-western WA.

So yes - pack some fruit for a travelling snack, but don't take it across the border into South Australia.

With the weather warming up, millions of Australians are looking forward to combining a caravan holiday with a spot of boating on the open water.

And it's tempting to hitch up a caravan and boat behind a four-wheel-drive and take off for the great outdoors.

But is it legal?

Drivers cannot hitch up their camper and boat in their own road-train.

You can tow only one trailer, caravan, box or boat at a time, Transport and Main Roads Queensland said.

The rule is the same for every state and territory with fines and penalty points.

The penalty for exceeding vehicle towing limits in Queensland is $287 and three demerit points. The fine is $469 and three demerit points (NSW), $238 to $1580 (Victoria), $343 to 591 in South Australia and $130 to $735 (Tasmania).

It's a common site to see rental e-scooters strewn about big cities wherever users have had enough of zooming around.

But did you know that you could be penalised for parking a Lime scooter "inconsiderately" in Melbourne?

The company has announced it will hand out $50 penalties to people who "mis-park" their scooters, and has declared it will ban repeat offenders from its services.

It will also seek to remove inconveniently parked scooters within the hour.

On the bright side, if you play by the rules, Lime's "parking wardens" will hand out congratulatory certificates for a nice park job.

Here's what constitutes a good park, according to Lime:

• Parking neatly on the kerbside of the footpath
• Avoiding parking against buildings
• Not parking in car spaces
• Avoiding parking near entrances, exits and crossings and don't lean scooters or bikes against buildings
• Considering whether wheelchair users can get past your parked e-bike or e-scooter



A 30-year-old driver was allegedly caught going 145km/h in a 50km/h zone in Edinburgh, in northern Adelaide, just before 11am on Monday.

Police pulled the car over and found that the driver was also on a P1 provisional licence - but that allegedly no P-plate was displayed.

He was reported for exceeding the speed limit by 45km/h, extreme speed, speed dangerous, and two counts of breaching P conditions.

He lost his licence on the spot for 12 months and his car was towed and impounded. He will appear in court at a later date.

So far, 77 people have died on South Australian roads in 2023 - outstripping 2022's toll of 71 with months left on the calendar - which illustrates that there are worse consequences for dangerous driving than a fine or losing points off your licence.

Horses are not the most common mode of transport in Australia these days, but drivers should still know what to do if they encounter a rider on the road.

What should a driver do if a horse rider signals them?

As Transport and Main Roads Queensland notes with some understatement on its website, "horses can be unpredictable".

"If you're passing a horse, whether it's being ridden, led, or drawing a vehicle, you should slow down and allow plenty of room," TMR wrote.

"You should not sound your horn when close to horses as it may startle them and cause them to move erratically."

If a horse becomes agitated, the rider may signal a driver by raising a hand and pointing to the horse.

This means the driver must stop at the side of the road and turn off their engine. They can't move again until the horse has settled, and it's safe to do so.